#and deliver him to the spore queen

[newvegascowboy]

There are also 3 people in this game that are realllyy excited to go back to the hub city to watch red awkwardly fail through a date, but we have to go on the world's longest sidequest first and its probably not going to happen for a real time month

#not fallout #kal talks #kal plays dnd #the last time we had a sidequest of this magnitude it was like. the end og September ans allll of October before we completed it #we have to get to an entrance to the underdark. go THROUGH the underdark. find a magic circle that will transport us #across the continent up north (to a place that is befuckeningly bad) #locate a laboratory #find the guy trapped in the laboratory #rescue him #kidnap him #taake him BACK ACROSS THE CONTINENT AND OUT OF THE UNDERDARK #and deliver him to the spore queen #thats like. probably 5 sessions minimum #i just think ita so funny that the dm and one other player arw both like teehee its going to be so fun and weve been talking about it foreve #and its not going to happen for so long lmaoo

[creacherkeeper]

lost township: the homegame

howdy yall :D i made a post like this a while ago that very much needed to be updated and i simply talk about and tag characters from lost township a lot so i wanted to have an easy place to reference for what in the hell im talking about and something to throw at people when i want to infodump. so!!

the game:

lost township is a d&d homegame set in a fictionalized, magical 1880s wild west. its set in the american-equivalent country the democracy of silver and includes all of the magic that we know from typical d&d games. it's based in the town of lost, in the state of undersun, sandwiched between harsh deserts and the mountains

the pcs:

cass bluebell - she/her - human drunken master monk - played by @strangetorpedos

cass is the owner of the saloon in lost and mother to adopted 6 year old davey. she's stoic, fair, and always just a little too weary for all the things on her plate. she took over the saloon about 5 years ago after the murder of her mother by the mysterious assassin the brownbird, and spent years trying to solve the murder to no avail (until recently). middle aged repressed lesbian on main, didn't sign up for this shit - art

divine shook - she/her - aasimar eloquence bard + oath of the bear paladin - played by @masculinepeacock

divine is the schoolteacher in lost and lives with her wife sarah and brother-in-law hawk. former southern belle of the rich intervention family, now barely scraping by as the breadwinner of the household. chronically babygirl coded, ultimate bambi lesbian. is the angel of the deer god of poetry but currently follows the bear god of fire and families and talks to her god like she's her mom (she is in their hearts). currently dating(?) sheriff lizzie - tag

maeve marigold - she/her - kalashtar psychopomp sorcerer - played by kaity

maeve is a former sex worker turned recently hired psychopomp of the raven queen, soon to be doing the psychopomp thing full time. she always has the most insane response possible no matter what the question was and does not know how to read. she also did not know what a psychopomp was when she agreed to be one. is currently under the tutelage of latrowe, the raven queen's current psychopomp, and has been being plagued by dreams and nightmares she knows aren't her own

morel - they/them - firbolg knowledge cleric / spores druid - played by @floralprintshark

morel is the local witch doctor and prophet of the god of fungi and decay. lived on the outskirts of lost for many years, providing free healthcare to the vulnerable townsfolk who weren't safe with the town's stuffy doctor. after pining for years, finally in a relationship with cat after the "unfortunate" murder of her former husband, and jointly raising her daughter kitten and their mysteriously delivered baby juniper. goth sad cow - tag

onion - they/he/she - fey shepherd druid / fey wanderer ranger - played by @paladinbaby

onion is a smuggler and deliverer of changelings who was introduced to the party with the task of safely transporting them from lost to the neighboring state. he's Fey Neurodivergent and a bit of a grumpy messy dyke (gender neutral) who doesn't have a ton of connections but cares about his people very deeply. chosen family with waylon squad and best friends with brandi - tag

will orville - he/him - werewolf gunslinger fighter - played by @punkbarbarian

will is an "investigator" (mercenary) who was brought to town under instructions to find and kill the brownbird and then ended up staying because he is a big old sad puppydog who needed to learn to love again and is. he is so so autism dad on main and cries at the drop of a hat (affectionate). currently dating scruggs, the first relationship he's been in since his husband was killed 13 years ago - tag

the npcs:

brandi carlile "the brownbird" - she/he - aasimar wild card rogue + arcane archer fighter + vengeance paladin

white hat assassin and angel of the jackalope god of chaos and death. her father was the singular prophet of her god who was responsible for raising the jack to godhood until he was assassinated when she was a young child. now she kills mostly bad men, mostly other followers of the jack. despite that he's both very excitable and very wet n pathetic babygirl hours and pretty much just wants to be cared for. long-time best friends with onion and in a Situationship (derogatory) with lizzie - tag

sarah shook - she/they - human wildfire druid

divine's wife and hawk's sister, golden retriever wife guy on main always. excitable, loving, intensely adhd, spends their time gardening, talking folks ears off at the market, and reading smutty books with her wife. refuses to process any of her childhood and she's so normal about it. has a bear cub made of fire named honeysuckle that she was gifted by the bear god. currently making eye emojis at morel and cat - tag

hawk shook - he/him - human wild magic artificer

sarah's brother and divine's brother in law. trying his best but unfortunately his best is not great, fiercely protective and caring but not good at the whole adulting thing. so far unsuccessful at holding down a job but is now working (hopefully long term) for cass at the saloon. slutty, gay, too autistic for his own good. was the originator of the plan for him, sarah, and divine to leave their homestate and find a new place to live after working for divine's awful parents for years - tag

cat clyde stevens - she/her - orc life cleric

former wife of bobby clyde, now partnered with morel, mother of half orc kitten and newly adoptive mother of baby juniper. married bobby and had kitten very young, and was mistreated for years before developing a relationship with morel and finally gathering the courage to call the brownbird and have her kill bobby. shy, nervous, very caring, new to the cleric thing - tag

lizzie no - she/her - coyote shifter crown paladin

former big city reporter, currently the sheriff of lost. protective, prickly, observant, and more than a little neurotic. bitchy dyke fr fr. religious trauma on main. managed to make it to lost after getting shot and got adopted and taken care of by waylon. now sister to kelsey and scruggs. has been in love with divine for Years and is not quite sure what to do now that theyre A Thing. in a Situationship (derogatory) with brandi, and is former friends, almost lovers, enemies, to somethings, queerplatonic idiots with onion (they'll figure it out,,,) - tag

earl scruggs - he/him - orc tundra storm herald barbarian

former child criminal and enemy of the state turned refugee, now waylons "bodyguard" (read: gets paid to do fuckall). big burly russian man, chronic big brother disease, gentle giant who loves to cook and be silly. tboy swag. has to keep up a reputation around town for being mean and tough but is way more emotionally intelligent and caring than most people give him credit for. currently in Some Sort Of Relationship with will (read: they uhauled and haven't talked about it) - tag

kelsey wilson - they/them - changeling inquisitive rogue

delivered to waylon at age 5 by onion after their parents died, now his secretary but actually just professional babiest sibling. so incredibly autism creature, goth lolita stan always, very anxious about interacting with anyone outside their family so simply Doesn't. does not want to grow up because of The Circumstances TM and so keeps themself young using fey magic which is unfortunately giving them chronic fatigue. kind of a bitch - tag

waylon jennings - he/him - zombie, former lore bard

former professional muse, now the benefactor of lost. bitchy old gay man, doing his best to take care of his kids even if isn't always a peaceful house. got turned into a zombie during an outbreak but somehow managed to keep his consciousness and a little of his magic. has been friends with onion for decades but as he's gotten older has come to view her more like a daughter - tag

latrowe - he/him - coyote psychopomp

used to be just a regular coyote, got chosen by morel's god to be a gift to the raven queen and become her psychopomp. showed up in maeve's dreams for a while and is now in the process of training her to be the new psychopomp cause he really misses being. just a dog. very formal and stoic when he's not eating out of your trash, fights with a cool glowing dagger

roo panes - he/him - tiefling scribes wizard

a religious researcher who was supposed to be cataloguing the pantheons of the democracy but ended up parking in lost for a while to study the jack (autism special interest alert). ultimate nerd, way too talkative, twink who's one stiff breeze away from having his bi awakening. currently has a puppy crush on kelsey and hasn't put together that's why scruggs is mean to him

the gods:

ama - she/her - bear god of fire, families, and the home - worshiped by divine and cat, divine is her paladin ata - he/him - bison god of food, families, and the home - worshipped by sarah dakota - he/him - deer god of poetry, beauty, and magic - divine is his aasimar the jack - no pronouns - jackalope god of death, chaos, trickery, survival, and alcohol - worshiped by many townsfolk in lost, including cass's late mother, brandi is the jack's only aasimar kathairein - they/them - vulture god of fungi, decay, and disease - morel is their prophet nidaash - they/them - salmon god of sex, transformation, and journeys the raven queen - she/her - raven god of life and death, knowledge, divination, and the moon - maeve and latrowe are her psychopomps sidewinder - he/him - rattlesnake god of protection, safety, medicine, and the sun - lizzie is his paladin

ship tags:

divine/sarah divine/lizzie lizzie/brandi lizzie/onion will/scruggs + 2

#hi dont ask me how long this took me #lost township #dnd #dnd 5e campaign

[brightness-jasnah]

Thoughts as I read SSP1 because no one will see this and I wanted a journal of live reactions:

SPOILERS AHEAD!!

strange colorful pigeons is such a funny twist on the rosharans calling every bird chicken :)

RATATOUILLE??

aether spores ! aether planet aether planet aether planettt

I wonder why Fort is just bigger than the regular person from this planet and if he has some worldhopper blood in him

the Dougs! such a funny collective noun. I keep wanting more on the backstories, like of the Doug once got so drunk she ended up as queen 

is dr. ulaam kandra? IS ULAAM A LIFELESS? LITERALLY WHOMST

Earregardless ULAAM

dragon in the crimson sea!

midnight essence? MIDNIGHT ESSENCE??

Good quote #1: “Worry has weight, and is an infinitely renewable resource. One might say worries are the only things you can make heavier simply by thinking about them.”

Good quote #2: “I follow the path of the gods themselves by delivering death indiscriminately. To do otherwise would presume I am greater than they.” - what a raw ass quote honestly

fort let her eat before everyone else!!! I cri :,)

hoid found his bulb rhyme :) 

dragonsteel :)

how did tress know about MARSH

how does dr ulaam’s healing salve work?

huck is so cute the little pirate man

would there have been 17 shards if hoid had decided to kill alongside the other 16?

how is ulaam getting heat into his hot water? is it a fabrial?

is huck Charlie 👀

the betrayal of huck goddamn ☹️

lol dick island

“arcane rune” aonic - tress is not the only person to call Aons “arcane runes”. marasi used the same verbiage. My headcanon is that world hoppers from Sel left indecipherable aons on both scadrial and this planet, and they’ve become the cosmere equivalent of unsolved mysteries

the sorceress has a laptop! and she is elantrian??? omg

hoid has been trying to become elantrian!

planet lumar! with many lu-prefix words! very fun linguistics

AHAHA SORCERESS WITH THE BULB RHYMES TOO! I love this running gag

tress takes the heroes journey! she changed!

THE RAT IS CHARLIE PWAHAHAHAHA

Bruh not the sorceress using light weaving on some weird reptile - that is one too many types of investiture 

riina!! we can see the aons used by hoid and riina in the art too - I wonder if that is decipherable

lol at the running slant rhyme gag

I really enjoyed reading this one :) I loved the voice with which it was written, and I really cannot wait for Dragonsteel

#ssp1 spoilers #tress of the emerald sea #ssp1

[houndsofcorduff]

🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹

This is a joke I promise

Oh, it's okay everyone, it's a joke I don't HAVE to post 96 lines of Stray...

It's a joke

There are definitely NOT 96 sentences for 96 roses under this cut

But really <3 Thank you for the roses <3 It's very sweet, even if it's a joke

The Queen Mother’s Palace. Elsava. Rosen. 27th Day of Summer, 940.

The desk was made of woodcasted spores, a very special piece of furniture. It had been passed down through the succession of Queen Mothers. Oriana was the current Queen Mother of Rosen. Her name, which meant blonde, was very appropriate. Although she was in her late fifties and her fair skin was beginning to wrinkle, her long blonde hair had not lost any of its shine or vitality. 

The Queen Mother sat behind her favorite desk, tracing one of the cracks in the wood beneath the top with her right index finger. It was a trick she used in stressful situations. If a deal with another nation wasn’t going the way she wanted, or she was delivered bad news, she would trace that crack to center herself. That way, she could hide any unnecessary emotion and still appear queenly. At that particular moment, the emotion she was suppressing was anger. 

To her left stood Siobhan, her 19-year-old apprentice and attendant. On the other side of the desk were Corduff and Boru. It had been three days since Hayes’s defection. Siobhan had been able to heal Boru’s head and leg injuries, as well as the burns on Corduff’s arms, though he still wore white bandages to protect the new flesh she had casted. 

Corduff’s expression revealed nothing of the inner turmoil Oriana was sure churned within him. He was a warrior, he would not betray his emotions to his Queen so easily. But for as calm and collected as Corduff was, Bo was fuming with anger. 

Bo’s fist slammed the delicate wood desk that Oriana cherished. She was clenching her jaw so tight she expected her teeth to break. However, she could not lose her composure. 

“I don’t care what anyone says!” Bo declared. “I am going after Hayes!”

Before Oriana could open her mouth to tell the foolish boy why he could not do that for probably the 27th time, Siobhan spoke up. 

“Bo, you are being a child!” She snapped, but better she let loose some fury than Oriana. “Hayes is my friend too. We will send a team to bring him back, but there’s just no way we are sending you!”

“But why not?!” Bo demanded. 

A vein throbbed near Siobhan’s temple with frustration. “We keep telling you and you keep ignoring us as if the more you ignore sense the more likely the situation is to change. You have been chosen by Destiny to bring peace to the whole world, Bo! We just aren’t going to let you go traipsing off on a suicide mission!”

“It’s not a suicide mission! It’s a rescue mission!” Bo insisted. 

“Will you just face reality already, Bo?” Siobhan was near tears - out of frustration with Bo as well as grief over Hayes, who had been her mhic* for two years while they both studied under Corduff. “Hayes has betrayed all of us - he joined the very rebels who have been trying to kill you for the past two years! And you want to throw yourself into their hands? I knew you were an idiot Bo, but this is a whole new level for you.”

“Hayes was tricked. Manipulated by a woman pretending to be his mother. They've poisoned and twisted his mind! I’m not going to wait around here for it to get worse. Hayes needs me right now, I have to help him. If it were the other way around he wouldn’t let anything or anyone stop him from saving me. I know it, I just know it!”

“You’re a fool, Bo,” Siobhan clutched her clipboard to her chest, her voice was softer but strained. “You have a greater purpose in this world than throwing your life away for one friend who turned his back on you. You are meant to save this entire world.”

Bo lowered his eyes and brought the fist which had been left on the desk back to his side. “How can I be expected to bring peace to this world, if I can’t even bring peace to one friend?”

“Are you truly saying that you would sacrifice this world for Hayes?” Oriana asked quietly. 

All was silent for just a moment. Then Bo looked at the Queen Mother, passion firing in his green eyes. 

“Of course not,” he answered. “If it means saving this world I will sacrifice Hayes. If he truly were to threaten world peace then I would do what was necessary. But he has not, and he deserves more than some half-hearted rescue attempt.”

Oriana thought on his words for a moment. “You can choose the four-man team. Choose anyone you trust to give 100 percent to the mission. It won’t be half-hearted.”

Bo opened his mouth, but Oriana quickly cut him off. “Choose anyone but yourself.”

Bo gritted his teeth but was quiet, at least for the moment. Oriana took the rare opportunity and changed the subject. She turned her attention to Corduff, who had been silent during Bo’s outburst. 

“What news do you have about the summons you sent Drumcondra?” She asked. 

“He accepted and is on his way,” Corduff answered. “He should arrive within two weeks.”

Oriana nodded, not surprised. “It seems we are finally worthy of that old fool once again. I should arrest him for treason, but for the sake of Bo’s training I will pardon him.”

“We’ve been summoning him to train Bo for two years,” Siobhan observed. “Why is he suddenly interested?”

“I suspect it is because this was the first summons he received from Corduff himself,” Oriana replied. “Drumcondra was always more loyal to individuals than to nations - even his own. Though I had thought myself one of those individuals to whom he was loyal. I am sorry it took a tragedy to finally convince Corduff to summon his old master.”

Oriana eyed Corduff with a strange look. To his credit, the young man’s expression did not change under her practiced glare. He didn’t even twitch. In the past, when Oriana had asked him to summon Drumcondra to train Bo, he had refused. Supposedly because he had wanted to keep the chosen one to himself, which was uncharacteristically selfish of the man. 

The excuse was only half a lie. Corduff did want to train Bo, but more than that, he had respected his master’s decision to leave Rosen. Drumcondra was a powerful asset, but he was also a man. And when he had left Rosen, he had been a broken man. 

Corduff remembered well the man's words to him that day as he consoled his weeping granddaughter. 

"This land breaks my heart, Corduff,” his master had said. “Every moment I am here is painful. I cannot stay, and I will not raise my granddaughter with my heart torn, she deserves more than that.”

#asks #you asked and you received #wip: hounds of corduff #wip: stray #my writing #I hope I counted mostly right #seriously I do appreciate the ask #I don't mean to come off as condescending #I was trying to roll with the joke

[zackcrazyvalentine]

Imagine Mc having pokemon that resemble the overblot boys the most, but ironically that certain pokemon absolutely hates their guts. They go on protective or defense mode whenever the boy gets nearby mc. These pokemon are so protective of their sweet trainer.

Luxray growls or snarls at Leona with electric sparks around its body whenever they make eye contact or when he's near Mc. These two look like they're always ready to duke it out.

Malamar gives Azul its best evil and threatening look,making sure Azul knows who they're dealing with a real evil mastermind.

Arbok looks like they're ready to strike Jamil if he gets too close or hisses at him. Has absolutely no problem with Kalim tho

Budew cowering in fear and hiding in MC's arms at the sight of Riddle, but releasing stun spores to paralyze him so its trainer can make an escape

Milotic splashing water at Vil's feet, surrounding MC to protect them from the poisonous queen while delivering a petty look

Chandelure always putting itself between MC and Idia, shining bright in the dorm head's dark room as a warning that it will gladly burn Idia's spirit down at the first wrong move

[Fav dragon type] always standing behind MC like a bodyguard to keep an eye on Malleus whenever he's close to its trainer

MC is their beloved trainer, someone who helped them grow stronger with the unbreakable bond they share. No one will harm MC as long as they [pokemon] stand, until their last breath

#zask #twisted wonderland #pokemon #crossover #twst mc #riddle rosehearts #leona kingscholar #azul ashengrotto #jamil viper #vil schoenheit #idia shroud #malleus draconia

[thethreemages]

*rises from the grave to finally deliver on a certain new story arc chapter*

...Heeeey everybody lol I know this may not be something anyone expected in like, ages compared to my other recent TTM-content... but well, ever since my last chapter upload from maaany months ago... I've just continuously kept getting blocked from wanting to get back more into the main story, especially with the influx of developing lore and side casts I've been having fun with a bit more in comparison.

But well, after some more heavy thinking and reworking a bit of how I wanted to frame the next few bits of the story to go (while still keeping relatively faithful to my original concepts)... here's the official next part to keep the main story flowing with some rather "juicy" drama ahead~

((Here's the DA Link for the fic itself in case it gets too cut-off here-))

===========

The eerie stillness of the forest was something all too familiar to those raised around this trek of the woods… but this night in particular was getting all the more “curious” for what semblance of peace was broken left and right....

On one side, a noble prince and a gentle strength mage were connecting all the closer together as they were quietly walking through the woods.

On another, a fiery prince and a gruff healer mage were stumbling into the middle of an ominous find… enough to have stirred up some lingering “threats” following after them.

And finally, as of now… a cunning dark mage was finding herself apprehended by a group she once looked up to, respected, and trusted…

“-I will not say this again! Unhand Me. This. Instant!” Prym Fletcher hissed towards the pair of guards who were roughly escorting her back to the camp, feeling tempted to have blasted them back already with her magic… had it not been for a fierce pair of eyes ordering her to keep still.

“Save it, kid. You’ve snooped upon very classified information against official orders, you’re not leaving our sight.” Taiyin Zhou replied back with a firm tone, “You’re about lucky we haven’t already arrested you as is…”

“Ughhh, I’m telling you I did NOT snoop! I had simply stumbled across your camp by accident!” the young dark mage insisted, her voice already growing exasperated with frustration, “Why won’t you believe me?? I’m Lady Meradyth and Sir Luka’s daughter, for Saint’s sake-!”

Halting in her tracks upon hearing that, Taiyin only turned her head to give a… rather puzzled look, “Sir… Luka? Um, sorry but... no one’s ever been registered in our ranks with that name…”

Rightfully confused as ever by that response, Prym had taken the moment to shove off the guards restraining her as she offendedly exclaimed, “Wait… w-what?? Oh, now this has to be a damn joke… Luka was once one of your top members back in the day! Closest friend to Ivor and my mother Meradyth, what do you mean by ‘never been registered’??”

“-Look, I’ve been here in the Elite for a good number of years, kid... and I think I would know if I was aware of anyone named Luka,” Taiyin furrowed her gaze to Prym in a frustratedly tired way, almost reminding her of one of the strict & overworked teachers back at St. Ravilda’s, “I don’t know what else to tell ya on that front, but we’ll be the ones handling the questions here, thank you very much...”

The younger mage could feel her fists clenching in a rising anger towards this woman’s insensitivity… yet didn’t have time to make another retort as a pair of familiar faces joined to greet them from behind Taiyin.

There stood the imposing General himself, alongside the stoic Alastair who gave a quiet look of disapproval towards his comrade’s harshness to Prym. In the meantime, Ivor’s face seemed to twist with many mixed feelings upon seeing his daughter’s friend. Shock, disappointment, confusion… and perhaps even a bit of fear?

“Prym… what in the Saints’ good names are you doing out here??” Ivor shakily demanded to know, the stern fatherly side of his kicking into high gear as if she were his own child caught in the act, “I told you specifically to stay back at home where it’s safe! Don’t you know what kind of danger you’re putting yourself in, especially at this hour of night within these woods??”

“I… w-well,” Prym struggled at first to find the words, not wanting to risk giving away that Tula and the others were very much out there in the woods too… so, after taking a second to think and compose herself, she retorted back to him with an unamused tone of her own, “Hmpf… I suppose I should be more asking you the same question, Ivor. Don’t think I didn’t hear His Majesty giving you orders to collect this insidious-sounding ‘white plague’ for him… whatever the hell that means for his standards…”

“-Hey, what did I say about watching your tone, kid-!” Taiyin attempted to scold her… only for Alastair to hold up his hand to let the young girl speak her mind. Not exactly expecting Prym to have spun the question onto him now, Ivor gave a conflicted moment of silence… but eventually, an approving look from Alastair encouraged the hulking General the resolve to just admit what’s up, not seeing much else to lose now that she’s already here...

“The… white plague we were speaking of earlier, Prym… is a code name for this strand of white fungal root that had suddenly taken bloom within Graystone. These plants… they’re about the most devastating plant species our country’s faced in these past few decades… once was the stuff of legends within our oldest history books, but then… somehow some twisted, sick individuals decided to recreate these plants and spread them loose to cause countless amounts of destruction among the lands…”

Hearing of these plants made Prym’s eyes widen a bit in recognition… taking a moment to think on it, “Hold on, I… think I might’ve heard of such plants back in this one story Professor Blanchard once told us; an old crone who was jealous of the younger beauties in her town made up a mash of brew from these weird, white twigs so she could poison the girls, and absorb their own beauty to become a ‘goddess’. The plan backfired when it simply made the other men exposed to her inner flaws despite all her good looks, so she was cast off in a ritual fire to pay for her sins. Could… those perhaps be the white plague plants you were mentioning?”

One by one, Ivor and the others had given a nod of yes as Alastair floated up a steel box to open in display… revealing within a sealed-jar the shriveled up remains of a ghastly, half-rotted root… curled into a position like that of a crooked hand. Nauseating as the contents were to look at, the fact that this root was seemingly swimming in a sickeningly thick black liquid near the bottom didn’t help either…

“Indeed, Prym… this is the white plague we’ve been tasked by King Grayle to retrieve,” Ivor continued on to explain, “In our years of tracking them down, they’ve been linked to many terrible cases of people becoming infected when they didn’t expect it. Whether it’d be from injesting the root itself or the snow-like spores spread out into the air… its almost impossible to fully recover from it before its too late...”

“Yes… these roots were the ultimate cause of many terrible tragedies our country will never forget…” Alastair finally spoke up as cleared his throat, his tone serious yet solemn as ever, “Queen Elianne’s death, the double-crossed Wraith Night survivors, the village residents of Yulong…”

‘...Aevri’s hometown…’, Prym thought as she felt the tears prick to her eyes, remembering when her friend was given the grave news of her parents passing away of illness a few years back in school... so sudden and out of nowhere during a seemingly peaceful period of time. Long as it was since the last she saw Mr. and Mrs. Ren, Prym could still plainly recall them both being such kind, healthy-bodied people who wouldn’t hurt a fly… so hearing of them being the unsuspecting victims of such a ghastly plant this whole time was beyond tragic… “...even among our own ranks we’re all too familiar with white plague being inflicted right under us… ” Ivor admitted with a saddened tone, his gaze to Prym signifying she’d know who he’d talk about next, “The night Lady Meradyth had fled, the arrow blades recovered from the crime scene were found to be traced with this blackened poison linked back to the plague root… which, in connection to those other past incidents could only mean one thing..”

Not having to say another word, Alastair let his magic do the talking for him as he enchanted his glowing aura to shapeshift a group of silhouetted figures gathered together, each holding the white plague roots within their hands in an ominous, unified fashion. With that, signifying that whoever was perpetrating these white plague attacks… were all working together in a single, spread-out group.

Hearing all this was already pretty heavy for Prym to bear… breaking her more into confusion as she noticed Taiyin and Alastair turning to leave along with some other guards, “w-wait, where are you going?”

“Continuing the rest of the mission, kid.” Taiyin informed her, thankfully not as harshly as before but still firm enough to try and hold the young dark mage back.

“Yes, if our sensors are correct then its only a matter of time before these plague roots bloom upon the first morning hour. We must give haste at once.” Alastair joined with Taiyin as he packed some quick essentials nearby, looking over to his superior, “General, please inform us if anything stirs around this area while we’re gone, and we shall do the same in return.”

“Noted.” Ivor simply nodded as he gave some silent orders for the two to continue heading out. As much as a part of Prym wanted to say more in perhaps suggesting to go with them or however… her mind was still much too focused on the growing anger she had towards all these suspicions and secrets being kept from her. Not even letting Ivor reach to touch her shoulder in comfort, she had resigned to simply stomp towards the tent to cool off… the shining light of the moon following behind her.

——-

On another section of the sprawled forest, making their way through the thickets was Prince Elas and Tula… seeming to make good headway on the path they were on. Further back they had found some tracks being quite imposing enough to belong to no one else but Tula’s father,

“Okay, looks like it won’t be long to find Papa!” Tula had deducted, feeling some more confidence at finding another cluster of footprints up ahead, “my guess is that he might’ve set up camp just a few trees away, by this rate.”

“Indeed, I can’t say I can find much to disagree with that notion.” Elas gave an approving nod, analyzing some of the tracks for himself, “Seems to me he might’ve had some party members of his own crossing though here, so whatever he may be up to then he’s bound to not be alone…”

Looking on ahead in the direction they were headed to, something inside Tula was feeling… odd, and kind of confused as to how everything was going so smoothly at the moment. Perhaps… a bit too smoothly, as the forest seemed eerily still at this point in time.

“...Elas, does something seem ‘off’ to you?” the young Strength mage pondered, her gaze glancing around for any signs of possible life within the trees or bushes. At first, the prince didn’t seem to detect anything out of place as he stepped ahead… until his foot caught sight of something that made him jump back in shock.

“Oh good Saints, w-what in the world was...?” gathering himself to calm down, Elas took a closer look to find that his shoe had stepped into what looked like a puddle of thick, ghastly-white goo… the contents sizzling a bit under the glow of the moonlight above. Tula had curiously peaked over his shoulder to see what was up… only for them both to jolt back again once the puddle started to bubble and release a hissing, acidic green stench.

“-What is that stuff?? I-I’ve never seen anything like that in these woods!” Tula exclaimed with a clear worry in her tone, “Do you think any of the girls or Kain found-”

Halted in her thoughts was the ear-piercing shriek of something very much inhumane ringing throughout the trees, rattling both her and Elas from standing upright. Careful to at least not fall back in the goop behind them, the two helped pick the other up as within these shrieks, they heard the loud crashing and glowing of magic clashing near the distance ahead.

“-Kain!” Elas deducted, upon recognizing the reddish-orange glow from where he was standing, “He and Aevri must’ve found something dangerous up there, come on!” he encouraged to Tula while instinctively firing up some blue fire in his hands.

Answering back only with a firm nod, Tula didn’t take long to summon up her Strength gauntlets as the two of them hurried on to try and help the other mages. If only they had looked back behind them, they would’ve noticed how that white goo from earlier was beginning to fade away as a figure summoned it back into the darkness…

—-

The normally firm General was in quite an awkward spot having Prym stumbling upon such top secret info as she did… having hoped that tonight could’ve been just a simple detour mission without having to drag any of the kids along. And he knew that hearing the truth about the dangers of white plague had truly shaken her up… so, he knew that he couldn’t have any room to blame her for not being willing to talk to him at the moment while they were alone at the campsite.

A few more minutes would pass before he’d finally make the move to head inside the tent as well… looking to find Prym with her back turned from him, clearly lost in thought and conflicted.

“...Prym, I know what you may be thinking,” Ivor steadily began, trying to keep his tone as delicate as possible, “-But you must understand that this situation was... much too dire and dark for me to just confess it freely among you and the others back home. I simply wished to protect you all-“

“-Protect us from what, Ivor?” Prym finally spoke up, not so much defensively as much as she sounded… tired, “If you haven’t already noticed, me and the girls are not little kids anymore… if you truly meant to be on an important mission regarding these plague plants, then we could’ve understood if you simply told us. Otherwise I thought… well, with the King’s orders and that one lady’s coldness to me, I…”

“...I know. And for that as well, I deeply apologize...” the General lowered his head as he sighed, “Taiyin is quite a strong soldier, noble-hearted as well… but we’ve been meaning to correct her more about not letting her loyalty to the Elite get the better of her towards outsiders. I’ll be sure to have a talk with her when she gets back, I promise.”

Assuring as that thought was, as well as relieved at his genuine apologies… something in Prym’s mind was nagging at her to not let it go. Something regarding one, particular detail that wouldn’t leave her thoughts…

“...Ivor, earlier Lady Taiyin had given me this… really strange response to me mentioning my father Luka. Basically saying he… apparently never existed within the ranks.” Prym had turned to further face the general, looking up with a look of questioning, “You didn’t even directly say that he died within those other plague casualties, simply that there was poison found at that scene where Mother ran away. Is… there something you’re not telling me, Ivor...?”

“...Prym, n-now is not the time to-“ he looked quite shaken by her sudden accusation, but Prym continued to stand her ground further with a firm anger in her tone.

“-No. Now is more than the perfect time to explain- Why is it that all my life, I’ve been told my father was this grand, loving hero of the King’s Elite alongside my mother, giving his life to protect countless innocents… and yet now I learn that’s all apparently been one big lie?? Ivor, please what is the real truth here?? W-Was my father a true soldier, or not?? Was he working for some other party, dealing with some unsavory types?? Please, j-just tell me already, Ivor!”

Steadily her voice began to shake more to a near-sobbing tone, lip quivering as her mind was drifting to all sorts of possibilities… and one more question stuck out the most as she pitifully looked up to the older general,

“Ivor… is my father even alive…?”

Silence quickly fell upon the tent… as Ivor looked conflicted as to how exactly he should answer such a question, let alone in a situation like this. As the seconds were passing into a minute between them, Prym was afraid that… perhaps he wouldn’t give her an answer, that maybe it was a mistake to ask at all after she had already stepped out of line as is… until at last, the still air broke when Ivor delivered a simple, one word answer that changed everything…

“...yes…”

——-

On their end of the forests away from everyone else, things had… really picked up much more chaotically for Kain and Aevri, the two of them now lost in a battle between an eerie group of monsters clamoring around them. Resembling that of tall, ragdoll-like humanoids made of white tree bark… their gaping mouths and hollow eyes dripping with white goo could’ve easily shackled their two foes in complete fear, if they both weren’t so stuck in fighter mode right now.

“-Eat this, bitch!” Kain had exclaimed with some kicks and punches of his crystal magic blasts, encasing the tree-like creatures in red shards that pinned them all to the ground. Aevri in the meantime did her best to defend them both, having summoned her shields to ward off and slice away closing-in enemies.

“Ughhh, will you freaks get the damn hint already?? Piss off!” the Healer mage grunted, swiftly throwing her summoned-shield to knock back some of the foes before it flew back into her arms. Try as they might through their defenses, however… Aevri and Kain could only watch as the monsters had simply risen up more from the ground up, not even seeming phased by their earlier attacks.

“Oh for fuck’s sake… what the hell is keeping these things alive??” Kain cursed while powering up another set of crystal attacks, “Even a wyvern would’ve fallen down by now, shit!”

Before Aevri could’ve answered back with a possibly-snarky retort, their thoughts were halted as they saw a flurry of blue flames burning back the horde of monsters that tried to make a grab at the two… the sender revealing none other than Elas and Tula who had hurried on to join the battle.

“...Greeaaat, perfect timing, bro.” the younger Graystone prince flatly remarked with a roll of his eyes, his brother simply scoffing in response with a flick of his hair, “-Save the backtalk til after we’re safe, Kain.” Letting his companion Tula take the next step in pummeling down some of the creatures with her firsts, she at least gave a more grateful and relieved look to her healer friend at seeing her standing strong in the fight, “-Aevri! Thank the Saints you’re alright! I-I hope these things didn’t hurt you too much…”

“Pff, hey... what would it be a fight without a few scrapes?” Aevri joked a bit to lighten the mood, bringing a small smile to Tula’s face before the both of them turned to ward off the next wave of monsters. It almost seemed concerning just how much these things were reanimating up again despite the waves of attacks… only seeming to keep going and going within the next few minutes to pass.

All… until each of the tree dolls suddenly halted in their place like statues, the melting white goop re-materializing into their eye sockets properly as each of them stood up straight. Confusing the hell out of the mages that were fighting them, the four watched as these dolls started to assemble into some upright positions… almost like an army awaiting their leader approaching. And with a rustle of movement coming from the bushes from behind, that… actually seemed quite closer to the truth as a pair of footsteps came walking out from the dark.

“-Hey! Who’s there??” Aevri turned in the direction of the steps as did the rest of her party, all rearing for another big battle… but then pausing as they finally saw who it was. Turning out to be a pair of hooded, ominous figures greeting them in plain view… their features hidden from where they were standing a lil far back. All until they stepped further into the moonlight was it shown that they were both women, one of them covering their face with a featureless white doll mask… and the other simply smiling back in a rather calm, calculating way.

“Aww… whats wrong, little ones~?” the hooded figure with a mask tilted its head, giggling in a tone that sounded much too saccharine sweet, “Sister and I simply wanted to have a lil playtime with my babies here… don’t be so mean~”

Naturally, this quite frankly creeped out the young mages who were now all the more confused seeing the masked lady stepping over to gently caress one of the tree dolls, as if it were her most prized possession. Compared to everyone else ain was at least trying to mask his unnervedness by standing back more boldly,

“H-Hey, these things of yours attacked us first, lady… what the actual fuck are you on about-??”

“...Hmmmm, temper temper...” came the much more dignified voice of the other woman, shaking her head in Kain’s direction though that smile of hers still remained clear as day, “Is that any way to speak to your family… Kain?”

The once-fierce gaze in Kain’s eyes had… very much evaporated into a look of disbelief upon hearing that voice… the crystal auras in his hands disappearing as they dropped to his sides in shock, “...w-what…?”

Alarmed by his brother’s sudden distress, Elas had turned to try and step up in Kain’s defense as he demanded, “-What in the Saints’ good name are you on about?? Kain is my brother, and I do not recall either of you being anywhere near ‘family’!”

“-Shhhh, manners… young man~” whispered the masked-figure, holding a finger to her lips as all stilled around her… summoning an eerie aura that surrounded the other mages into freezing in place, much like the tree dolls. Unable to do anything but move their heads and faces, Tula, Elas and Aevri all looked on as only Kain was allowed to move on his own… yet all he could do was just shakily stand in place as the unmasked figure slowly approached him… again still smiling that damn smile of hers…

“-No, n-no no you can’t… you can’t be her…!” muttered the now-shaky voice of the usually-haughty prince… trembling as the figure was now up face-to-face with him. Even without being freeze-spelled like the others were, Kain could do nothing but stare as the figure reached up a hand to his face… gently caressing his cheek as her free hand moved to pull back her hood.

Now… there was really no doubt who exactly she was. The striking red hair, the ruby red lips, the amber eyes all too similar to Kain’s… save for the subtle signs of aging, he could never forget a face like that....

“Yes… it is me, my son~”

———

Millions of thoughts were running through Prym’s mind as she recalled what Ivor just confessed to her. Her father… her own father Luka… was alive all this time?? As much as she wanted to celebrate such news, another dark side of her was just reeling at the implications…

Where was her father, all this time she and her mother were in hiding? Why didn’t he come back for them? Was someone keeping him hostage, forcing him in place? What if… what if he willingly chose to abandon her? Not even sparing her a second thought, wherever he’s at now…?

Sensing the growing conflict growing within Prym, Ivor did his best to try and diffuse the situation as he reached to comfort her, “Prym, I… p-please try to understand-“

“-What IS there to understand, Ivor?? Nothing is making sense anymore!” the dark mage exclaimed as she threw up her hands, feeling her tears growing hot as she began to pace back and forth, “You say my father’s apparently alive all this time, but where in Terra IS he?? Obviously he’s not within the Elite ranks now, Mother hasn’t heard from him in ages, and none of the current Elite seem to know who he is! All I want now is the truth, and I want it now!”

“...” Ivor had grown quiet for the moment, heavily sighing as he gestured for Prym to follow him near one of the seats, “I… know this is very much against protocol, but… i-it’s about time you knew, Prym…”

As much as she would’ve liked to argue and stay pouting… the ever-curious side of Prym decided to relent in at least hearing his side of the story out, wiping away her tears with a still-determined look in her eyes. All she could do was watch on as Ivor went and grabbed an old wooden chest to carry over to her, opening the contents to pull out a sealed document folder hidden under some other papers and trinkets inside.

“Prym… your father was a man that had many burdens over him at his age,” the General began to explain, handing Prym the folder as he sat down next to her, “As much as he tried his best to fulfill his duties as a leader… others still feared and hated him for feeling like he took away what wasnt ‘rightfully’ his, on top of the already-detested dark magic he carried. And well… being his oldest friend, I knew that it wouldn’t be healthy for him to linger on all this bad press… so, it was my suggestion that he would involve himself more with our growing Elite forces, to help him lighten up from the stress of it all...”

Within her grasp, Prym flipped open the folder to see the first page contained a picture of Luka’s face on it, with the royal insignia of the Elite stamped below it. With a silent nod from Ivor, she flipped under it to see that inside held some various papers and photos from the old days of Luka’s younger years… from sparring with his troops, to happily posing with some grateful-looking civilians, to joining together with his team to stand vicariously together all at once.

“Overtime, your father grew to fit in well within the Elite for letting him express himself for who he was… beyond all the titles and dark magical stigmas, but as a loyal comrade who’d do anything for the good of Graystone. And since the local civilians didn’t seem to recognize him as a simple soldier like the rest of us, he had even felt comfortable enough to try and help out these communities through his own acts of vigilantism…” Ivor chuckled, unable to resist a small blissful smile at the memory, “Not too surprising that he and your mother grew to get along a lot well in that department, denying as they were at first...”

Pausing for a moment from browsing through the folder, Prym looked over to Ivor with a look of puzzlement, “...So, if you say my Father did all these great things for the people… why would they turn on him because he performed some darker magic spells than normal? I know Mother had mentioned that he enraged some uptight army for his necromancy, but…”

“...W-Well, truth be told, that... wasn't exactly the ‘full’ reason for his eventual attack, Prym...” Ivor admitted, rubbing the back of his neck, “Luka, well-meaning as he was… at the same time was always rather stubborn and reckless when it came to what he thought was the right thing to do, regardless of the possible consequences ahead. There was no better example for when he had stepped out of protocol in one of our missions against a local crime-lord of the downtown New Grayle district… Boss Byzantine.”

“Byzantine…?” Prym blinked, steadily recognizing that surname after a bit of thought, “-One of Kaz’s bully friends shared that name back in school… Cable Byzantine.”

“Ahh, yes… the Boss would’ve been Cable’s father, from what I recall of that man.” Ivor gave a nod of acknowledgement, “Often kept to himself apart from the few public appearances with his family… most wouldn’t even know much else of him aside from that automobile company of his. But well… we as the Elite were having our growing suspicions after examining more of how poorly the downtown area was, and interviewing the locals terrorized from his gang’s past attacks. And thanks to one of our undercover operatives, Sgt. Kodiak, we had not only started to put any and all accomplices in jail, but had planned in the near future to soon put Byzantine to justice too. Luka, however… well, turns out he had decided to take fate into his own hands by cornering the Boss one day in his office with his dark magic… giving into temptation with his soul-ripping spells to really show the crooked man who he was messing with…”

The air seemed to grow heavier as Ivor quickly grew quiet again, his gaze going back to the chest’s contents as he pulled out something else from under all the papers… a locket with a purple moon gem symbol on the front, “...In the end, thanks to some nearby guards catching wind of his actions, Luka wasn’t fully able to be rid of Byzantine as he hoped… but that would soon seal his fate as the Boss had subtly planned a “vengeance” of his own. And so, a few years later Luka and Meradyth had made plans to head into the Downtown area for a quick errand, picking up this upcoming birthday present for you...” explaining as he gently placed the pendant within the girl’s hands, eyes closing as he painfully recalled further...

“...and, just as they were heading back home… they were ambushed. A mix of Byzantine’s own men and a few hired hands from the army Luka has disgraced, together overwhelmed the couple in more ways than one. Within all the smoke, blades, and spells being thrown around it was practically impossible for either of them to evade it all on their own…”

“So, how exactly did my father manage to survive from it all...?” Prym turned her gaze to ask, a hand gently resting onto Ivor’s as he felt himself getting shaken by the recollecting… only pressing on further for Prym’s sake, “-Through having to spend a good chunk of his aura energy on teleporting Meradyth away from safety, and the last of it to unleash one, devastating blast to ward off the remaining foes, they were defeated and got taken into custody… but at a grave cost to Luka, himself. Our troops, try as we did to bring him back to heal him up, just weren’t able to stop the plague-induced infections from slipping him into a deep sleep. Hours had turned to days, and days turned to weeks… and throughout it we were beginning to lose hope. Finally, at last he was able to wake up and face us again, b-but…”

It was here that Ivor had turned to look back at Prym, placing a hand to her shoulder as he delivered the news that had shattered the shred of hope she had earlier...

“Prym… h-he didn’t recognize us anymore, and… neither could he remember either you or your mother when we tried to tell him after waking up…”

“...W… What? No… n-no that can’t be right..!” the dark mage bitterly broke into a sobbing mess, shaking her head in near-denial, “-What kind of father would just up and forget his own loved ones, his own family?? P-Please tell me this isn’t true, Ivor! Please…!”

“...I-I’m sorry, Prym...” a guilt-ridden Ivor muttered, instinctively pulling Prym in for a tight hug despite her protesting sobs, “We tried all we could, believe me we did… but this plague proved to be the most resilient curse on our fellow comrade, even with the best medicinal help. Showing him pictures, records, and home videos did little to jog his memory… after awhile, he started refusing our help all together despite our protests…”

Soon, even as toughened as he usually was… even Ivor has begun to shed some tears as he held Prym close,

“He’s changed so much as time further passed, Prym.. not even going by his name anymore whether he’s off duty or not these days. To the point where eventually we just decided to never bring up the subject of Luka anymore, with the very few remaining soldiers from our old ranks swearing to silence never to speak of him either. As much as we wanted to reunite him with you both in the coming years, we just… w-we didn’t want to task the risk if anything were to… well, go wrong…”

To say that this did anything to soothe Prym’s heartbroken state would be a lie… as in the minutes that passed her furious sobs had silenced into mere whimpers, whilst Ivor continued to do his best to hold and comfort her as if she were his own child. In some ways, this news had devastated her even more than her initial thoughts of her father being deceased. To even imagine having to go through as much as he did, miraculously surviving but erased of his own memories like that… it was beyond crushing of a thought...

...Yet, the more she had paused to think on this info, the more she began to realize the implications of what exactly Ivor meant by Luka not going by his name anymore. Thinking back to the folder left next to her, she couldn’t help herself in pulling away from Ivor… desperately flipping through until her eyes caught sight of the last page. Her father’s medical file.

And this time, even Ivor didn’t move to stop her as he defeatedly looked away, accepting that she had to know this sooner than later...

...our current patient has been confirmed to have been inflicted with trauma-induced memory loss, and by royal order we have been requested to withhold further treatment by his end. Our staff has grown worried with his own past history of ongoing PTSD and Chronic Depression, but well… as our fellow staff had put it, an order’s an order.

With a heavy heart, this concludes our progress into looking after our patient of the past year and a half... Luka Grayle.

#the three mages #main storyline #my art #my fics #(at long last I finally returned to this oml-) #(again *mega* apologies in advance for the delay on this for anyone who's originally followed it more closely) #(as much fun as I had with developing lore and side casts I knew it was about time to get more back on the main story) #(soooo enjoy~) #(and stay tuned for the some upcoming chapters ahead cause BOI this was fun to get back into dljfkjk x33)

[minecraftoworymode]

Higher beings, these words are for you alone.

They were woven from mycelium and incense in the gentle shade of a sighing pine, while the world still lay half-written and content. The Visionary came first to the village of the shroom-singers in the north, and Her shadow was that of the Huntress, who was the Prince of Plots, and visions of metal and magic alike wrapped themselves around Her like the sun and its imprint kissed on the inside of one’s eyelids. Steady as bamboo She took a shroom-singer by the hand and said:

'I am the Keen-eyed Queen of the Three in One. In this spore is a story and a seven-syllable spell, IN THIS GARDEN WE ARE LOVED, which you will repeat to it until this is Kept in Their heart.'

Then She led the shroom-singer into the ocean water where guardians took them into castles of stained glass and coral. They threaded through the spore glistening seaweed and prismarine, and crafted it a future crown of sea-salt and Netherlight.

Announced by a choir of Equinox dragons in full winter bloom, the Operator then appeared to the shroom-singer and said:

'I am the Ever-Near Emperor of the Three in One. Held aloft in your palms lies the learning spore of the One Who Will Know Us, who possesses meta-knowledge of working wood and light-beams, unique among us for the tangibility of their love. Look; you hold them in your hands.' The shroom-singer then reached out for the Catalyst, only to find their fingers unable to touch His plum-planked palisade. But they were not chastised for their doubt; rather the Operator expected it and delighted in it, and rewarded them with a new and secret song.

Eight Winds came to them one night and put on shadow puppet plays, month-long epics that painted their cave walls anew. Then came a ninth, and he was a Mirror to whose name was dedicated one part what he wanted and one part for what he knew would never be, or the Word Written in Uncertainty. And the Word said:

'What are you waiting for?'

To which the shroom-singer replied the Keeper.

'Go to the land of the little suns in three months' time, for that is when the herd at last runs free. I return now to be haunted by the warriors who fell and still wonder why. But first I show you this.'

Then the Word and and the Operator joined together into a pillar of fighting styles terrible to behold and they danced before the spore and its dreaming image.

'Look, beloved mine, and find the reason behind the splendor of my rose-petaled carnage, for in it will be delivered the unfettered path to godhood, perfect in every way. How else might we reach Heaven?'

The Keeper already knew. The Keeper had always known, and it was for this reason that They came incarnate into the world like a breath of spring to remind Him. They had half a mind to gently chastise the Operator for His thinking folly then and there, but again They were sleeping, or else abstracted, and made no sound but a quiet hum. Perhaps They saw what was to come; visions of silk and song, of the Sun breaking scarlet over the horizon. 

'For I have crushed a world with my left hand,' He would say, 'but in my right hand is how it could have won against me. Love is under my will only.'

The Word is the mouth that whole consumes the Lepton and the Quark.

#msg #ng+ #THIS IS ONLY PARTLY A SHITPOST. 70-75% shitpost #this is a joke coming off of the threads of 'fred is vivec' and 'hollow knight lore is wild' and 'mcsm has No lore so it's free real estate' #surprisingly coherent. i need to go about 20% more nonsensical

[bellyslitting]

The Favourite (2018, Yorgos Lanthimos)

Power struggle in Yorgos movies is a hundred times more fun to watch, every single time.  I love how he seems to have a special place in his heart for featuring animals (literally or as plot devices or whatnot) in his films, and delicately elegant places and subdued, absurdly humorous dialogue--going the whole nine yards in this period film with nothing less than the royal court of Queen Anne.  Amidst the eccentric, scandalous lives of Britain’s royalty, and amidst watching women clawing their way to the top, Yorgos always delivers us some kind of cathartic poetic justice (in my humble opinion); in this case, and congratulations to Olivia Colman--the Queen stays Queen.  Adios!

Other than that, i seriously cannot get over how similar certain aspects of this film seemed to be to Agnieszka Holland’s The Secret Garden (1993).  Now for those who have had it up to here and will not stand for another one of Frannie’s comparisons, you may now look away!

The Secret Garden (1993, Agnieszka Holland) vs. The Favourite

Mary Lennox: strong-willed persona....................Lady Sarah

Colin Craven: frail, bratty persona....................Queen Anne

Both Colin and Queen Anne had a slightly unhealthy attachment to their BFFs, combined with entitled/possessive jealousy during times in which their BFFs were paying too much attention to someone else:

i.e. When Lady Sarah was dancing with Masham, Queen Anne told them to STOP; which is like when Mary Lennox was looking into the eyes of Dickon, as if they were about to kiss, Colin had also told them to STOP!

Another scene in which Queen Anne threatened to jump off her windowsill and Lady Sarah called her bluff and Queen Anne was pulled to the floor sobbing:

Reminds me so much again of Mary Lennox proving to a sobbing, self-pitying Colin that the spores from outside his window would not kill him:

(even those window panes! Gotta love British castles and manors...)

and that line spoken by Colin when he asked Mary what the Maharaja says in India when he’s finished speaking... “I have spoken, all depart.” were the very words spoken by his “reincarnation”, Yorgos’ Queen Anne....

Now........ I have spoken, all depart......... yes you................

#2018 #horror blog #Yorgos Lanthimos #emma stone #Rachel Weisz #olivia colman #nicholas hoult #joe alwyn #the favourite

[alexthegamingboy]

Toonami Weekly Recap 4/13/2019

The Promised Neverland EP#01 - 121045: In an orphanage known as "House", 38 children spend their days playing games, studying, and taking part in tests until they are eventually adopted. One night, after six-year-old Conny is taken out for adoption by the House's mother, Isabella, two of the smartest children in House, Emma and Norman, go to catch up with Conny to deliver a stuffed toy that she forgot. Passing the still-open gate, they discover Conny dead inside a truck and are forced to hide as Isabella trades Conny as "meat" for rich demons. Realising that the House is actually a farm raising humans as food for the demons, Emma and Norman rush back and become determined to escape with the other children. Meanwhile, Isabella discovers the stuffed toy Emma had left beside the truck when they fled.

Sword Art Online: Alicization EP#11 - Central Cathedral: Eugeo is certain that the knight in front of them is Alice, but she does not recognize him or Kirito and takes them into custody. Kirito and Eugeo broke out from the prison using their high object control authority and proceed to the Central Cathedral, but Alice, having predicted their move, sends another Integrity Knight to intercept them. In the real world, Asuna is introduced to the first prototype of a AI robot that is being developed at the Ocean Turtle.

JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure: Diamond is Unbreakable EP#31 - July 15th (Thursday), Part 1: Yoshihiro, recognising Kira in his new appearance, notices he is being followed by Hayato. Later, on July 15th, Josuke and Okuyasu come across Mikitaka, who spots a Stand user named Toyohiro Kanedachi living on an electrical pylon. When Josuke spots Yoshihiro with him, he steps inside the pylon and falls under the spell of Kanedachi's Stand, Superfly, becoming trapped inside until someone else takes his place. Josuke and Okuyasu attempt to destroy the pylon, only to discover it reflects out any damage it receives. Wanting to help, Mikitaka confronts Kanedachi, helping Josuke to escape but becoming trapped himself. Meanwhile, as something troubling happens in the Higashikata household, Rohan, who had noticed Hayato's behavior, is approached by a strange man.

My Hero Academia: Forest Training Camp Arc EP#45 - What a Twist!: Midoriya, Todoroki and Shoji have caught up with Mr. Compress, and with Aoyama's assistance, they manage to rescue Tokoyami. However, the villains retreat with Bakugo, leaving the heroes-in-training in anguish. U.A. faces serious backlash over the next couple of days, even while the police pursues a lead to find the League of Villains. Midoriya wakes up in a hospital bed, two days after the attack. Almost all of class A comes to visit him. Kirishima and Todoroki reveal that they plan to go rescue Bakugo.

Black Clover: Witches’ Forest Arc EP#65 - I'm Home: Realizing that Vanessa could never have unlocked the Red Thread of Fate without her friends, the Queen accepts defeat and heals everyone. After giving her earring to Asta, she explains that it is actually one of the Magic Stones that belonged to the Elves who were massacred by Clover Kingdom's ancestors long ago. She explains that Vetto and Fana used forbidden magic that only Elves can perform, the same type of magic that was used to summon the Great Demon defeated by the first Wizard King. She further reveals that Asta's anti-magic swords are the remnants of the swords wielded by the Elves' leader, who summoned the Great Demon. Mars returns to the Diamond Kingdom intending to use the Queen's Blood Control to control the king and restructure the Diamond Kingdom's infrastructure for the better while Fana remains with Fanzell's group, Ladros deciding to help in the coupe. The Bulls return to their headquarters and give the Stone to Yami while learning other Bulls have returned their attempts: Luck and Magna have grown far more powerful from their dungeon crawl; Gordon and Gauche have become nerds after spending too long in the King's Library; and Charmy and Grey have become infested with mushroom spores from the forests. The Bulls celebrate their victory.

Hunter x Hunter: 13th Hunter Chairman Election EP#138 - Plea × and × Favor: With the elections in a stalemate, Pariston, the current vice-president, proposes a new set of rules to his fellow Zodiacs in order to solve the impasse, but the others know that he actually plans to make use of this to secure a victory for himself. Meanwhile, Killua returns home and asks his father to let him see his younger sibling Alluka, intending to use her mysterious and frightening power to grant wishes in order to save Gon's life.

#Toonami #Toonami Weekly Recap #Recap #Spoilers #The Promised Neverland #First Episode #Sword Art Online #Sword Art Online: Alicization #JoJo's Bizarre Adventure #JoJo's Bizarre Adventure: Diamond is Unbreakable #July 15 (Thursday) #My Hero Academia #Forest Training Camp #Black Clover #Witches' Forest #Hunter x Hunter #13th Hunter Chairman Election #Anime

[dietaku]

Chapter 3: Video games are very competitive

I wasn't alone in staring at this striking woman as she stood poised before us, before Jake spoke up.

“Who?” he asked, as Unipopcorn snorted indignantly.

“Who? Am? I? You simpletons don't even know who? My? Personage IS?” she demanded, as we shook our heads as one, “Ugh! I tire of these narrow-minded slugbrains! Raymond, take care of these fools,” she called, as a large man in ivory plate armor stomped forward.

“Lady Uni, let me school these louts in your magnificence,” he called in a tinny voice, as Zechs snapped his fingers.

“Spasmodicon streamer, conventionally attractive blonde girl? Yeah, I think I remember you for your stream highlights on ReVid,” Zechs called, as Uni fumed.

“How dare you! Just because I'm a woman, you think I'm skating by on my looks? I'll have you know I take pride in my appearance, my mind and my body all in equal measure!” she growled, as Raymond stomped forward.

“Peace, Lady Uni. I, Raymond, Grandmaster of the Knights of Alb, will smash these fools so you don't sully your hands,” he roared, raising a large axe as I stepped back instinctively. Jake, on the other hand, rushed forward, smashing into Raymond as the two struggled, axe to shield.

“Jake, catch!” Zechs called, tossing the hammer from the Hollyhock Hoochie-Koo to Jake, as he caught it deftly.

“Uh, thanks, but what is this?” Jake asked.

“That's a hammer, Jake. It provides a powerful status ailment,” Potato called, as Jake nodded, pushing forward in his melee, as Unipopcorn growled, raising her blade into a battle stance.

“Whene'er the Sun does play

Or the Ghastly Night holds sway

I keep this holy oath upon my lips

All Evil I shall slay

Like stars in the sky in kinship

Hefting the great duty borne

I am forever your Unipopcorn,” she intoned, as a brilliant golden light enveloped her. The Knights of Alb all applauded as she zeroed her attention on Zechs, dashing forward with a sweeping sword lunge. Narrowly parrying the strike, Zechs stood backing up, as Unipopcorn rained blow upon blow on him with a barrage of oaths in turn.

“Seriously? Is not treating you like a queen worth killing me over?” Zechs cried, as Unipopcorn continued her assault unabated. Hefting her blade high, her furious golden glow rose in brightness, as her blade's edge gleamed.

“Shining Solar Ray,” she keened, slicing the air as a golden crescent of energy sliced the air, bisecting the field, cutting a swathe so far, several trees crash far beside the entrance to the Bouquet Garden on the opposite end of the plains. Narrowly avoiding the attack, Zechs gawked at the destruction, before leaping forward, delivering a thundering barrage of attacks of his own.

This back and forth continued, as the Knight of Alb and I watched the battle with interest, as one of their number, a figure wearing a beaked helmet with a tabard depicting a dove in flight hesitantly asked,” So...Do you want to fight, too?”

“No,” I yawned, pointing to the smoking corpse of the Midgard Zworma, “I already beat the chicken, so I'm good in terms of combat.”

“O-oh, I see,” they replied, as I turned to watch Jake and Raymond locked in battle.

“You're pretty good,” Jake huffed, as Raymond sneered.

“You're not entirely without martial virtue yourself,” Raymond replied, “However, there is one thing I know that you don't.”

“Oh? What's that?”

“I am a Proton Dozer! I am a finely tuned weapon of mass destruction for my lady! It matters not your build nor your equipment when I smash you in two blows!” Raymond roared, as Jake shrugged.

“I'm a Proton Bunker myself. I can tank even the mightiest hits, especially when my allies are near,” Jake countered. Neither allowed the other a clean hit, until Jake's flowery hammer struck Raymond's shoulder obliquely, as the White Knight staggered, trying desperately to regain his footing.

“Huh, now that I get a good look at it, that shield is quite a piece of work. Where'd you find such a weapon?” Jake asked, as Raymond looked at him with utter bewilderment. Swaying as if drunk, he was a shadow of the imposing figure he cut but moments ago. I shook my head in pity as I knew all too well what he experienced.

“Poor guy. Shoulda known that thing smacks you with the Hollyhock's venom spores,” I muttered.

“Zuuuuh, plmufmnabam,” he slurred, as Jake nodded.

“The Plains of Abenon? Thanks!” Jake grinned, as he turned to Potato, “PC, I'm going to need yo~our help. Will you help me at the Plains of Abenon?”

Potato perked up for a moment, as I arched a brow, before they returned to their usual demeanor, “Oh, of course, Jake. I will assist you.”

“Great!” Jake cried, grabbing Potato's hand and tearing off into the horizon, as Unipopcorn paused her battle.

“Raymond? RAYMOND!” Unipopcorn cried, cradling Raymond, as she glared at us, “How dare you assault my Grandmaster!”

“I'm sorry?” Zechs called, as Unipopcorn rose into the air, hefting her champion, as the Falcons and we looked on in surprise, the entire legion of the Knights of Alb flew off with their leader.

“I-I'm done. I'm just done,” the leader of the Falcons sighed, walking off with his fellows in tow as I waved.

“Bye! Don't let the door hit you on the way out!” I called, as a small Squerran boy, his hair and tail entirely a shocking blue color paused in his high-speed dash before cackling.

“Speed it up, sister! Whoever lives by the quip, dies by the quip!” He called mockingly, before resuming his earlier pace.

I blinked, “D-did I just get told off by a knockoff--”

“HOLY CRAP! WAS THAT ZEDYYK THE SMUGHOG!?”  Zechs asked excitedly, as he craned to get a better view.

“Oh. I guess it was,” I sighed, as Zechs excitedly looked around for another glimpse, “C'mon, let's go home.”

Returning to Potato's home, I filled in the others with Zechs and my exploits over the last three days, as Zechs added details.

“--So, then, we defeated Aharel's Butler, and saved a mermaid.--” I boasted, as Potato snorted.

“You actually started that quest line? I mean, I knew you were somewhat weird when you chose Floof Clan as your race, but to go for that quest? Wow,” Potato replied.

“Wait, what do you mean?” I demanded.

“That quest line is the one that gives you the Ishtar Theurge subclass and has you explore the Sunken Abyss. It's not pleasant or pretty, even if it's a good source of exp and skill levels,”  they explained, as I blanched.

“I...ergh, I see,” I mumbled, as Errin turned to us.

“So, what are we going to do now, then? We seem to be victorious for the time being,” she asked, as Jake steepled his fingers before his face.

“Now is the most critical of moments. We have made our first decisive act, and we succeeded, but now we need to continue your push forward. In this instance, we need to solidify our powerbase, and then with that, increase our capital in order to empower ourselves. The late-game of this game is incredibly straining on resources, and we need to begin stockpile resources now to even hope of succeeding.”

“Oh, well, that's fine. Let's just get all the wood, stone, steel, gems, and the like necessary,” Zechs brightened.

Jake shook his head, “That's not the type of resources I mean.”

“Then what do you want?” Zechs demanded.

Jake grinned, flashing some shining coins, “Platinum gems. That's the coin we need.”

Immediately, Zechs' enthusiasm dropped,” Why are we gonna need the premium currency?”

At this, Errin raised her hand,”What do you mean by that? Premium currency?”

Jake smirked,” Ah, right, you haven't been in gaming for that long. Well, imagine this;  What would happen in the real world if the ordinary currency was the penny? That you could buy groceries, goods and everything with pennies? However, the billionaires of the world, the movers, shakers, and candlestick makers, all with their solid gold suits and ties, all went around using dollar bills. On top of that, you'd need to go to the US bank in order to spend your pennies to get dollars because important things, like gas, certain medicines, and important things like houses, cars, and even the ability to get married, required investments in dollars? That's how premium currency works.”

“Not really,” Zechs corrected, “There's no place to turn in regular gold for platinum gems, at least in Slidelands, so your analogy kinda falls apart.”

“Actually,” Potato corrected, “There is a weekly merchant that arrives in the city of Denebite and will exchange gold for platinum gems. It's not the best exchange rate, something like 10k per gem, but it'll do in a pinch.”

Jake shook his head, “Hush, you two, you're going to confuse her. But, anyways, Errin, that's how things go. We need this premium currency to help us with the late-game content.”

“And what do we need with platinum gems, anyways, huh?You still didn't answer my question” Zechs demanded.

Jake's stare grew harder, “We'll need it to crack chronocysts. If we're in this for the long haul, then we'll need some anyways, but we need to relics the chronocysts carry.”

Zechs gaped, “B-b-b-but, those cause grown men to cry! The luck ratios on good to awful drops is absolutely abysmal! That's just an total crapshoot!”

Errin raised her hand again, and Jake sighed, “I'll explain it when we do our first chronocyst raid. In the mean time, we need to work to get the money. Potato crunched the numbers, and he thinks we need about 150K in platinum gems to get the re-rolls we'll need.”

“And how do you propose we raise this money? I don't know about you, but we don't have the goods nor the crafting skills to produce the goods we could potentially sell for such funds?” I asked.

Jake grinned, passing me an embossed paper, “This ought to explain it all.”

The paper turned out to be a menu of sorts, with various acts and services described in flowery language. It was when I read down to the highest priced services that its purpose dawned on me, “You're going to whore me out, aren't you?” I growled, as Jake looked away sheepishly.

““Whore” is such a strong, negative word. I'd like to think you will be providing counseling and  support for the sad, sorry nerds that populate this game. At worst you'll be ERPing with them...”

My heart sank as I recalled what THAT lovely community did. ERP, or Erotic Role-Play, was a sideline of pretty much every MMORPG. For every fan interested in grinding up their favorite character or exploring the immense worlds, there were horny teenagers, seeking to fulfill their base desires. These two groups weren't mutually exclusive, either, making it all the worse.

“Take Zechs for instance,” Jake continued, not looking me in the eyes.

“Okay?” I growled, as Zechs fumed.

“Notice how Zechs doesn't take his eyes off your....You. You. That's what I meant. Don't you know how much money we could make capitalizing on this?” Jake asked, “Platinum gems as far as the eye can see. If we spin this right, then we'll be set with minimal effort. Well, minimum effort for Potato and me, anyways,” Jake explained.

My frown widened further and further as Jake grinned, and Zechs chuckled nervously. Potato shrugged, and Errin shook her head.

“Do I even have a choice?” I sighed, as Errin tapped her chin.

“That depends. Do you think that Free Will exists? Or are you more inclined towards Predestination in your understanding of how reality works?” Errin pondered, as I snorted.

“That's how you respond? Philosophy?”  I growled, as Errin shrugged.

“It's ultimately up to you. I really can't say anything of help, as this is all new to me. Besides, you're younger than me, and you all tend to have very different views on love and relationships than I do.”

“So, would you do this, then, if it meant we'd get the funds we need?” I asked, as Errin giggled in spite of herself.

“No, no. I have a husband and two young sons. I can't very well compromise my morals for anything like monetary gain,”  Errin replied.

I pondered. No such compunctions clouded my decision-making. I had no family, and truth be told, I didn't think it was the worst thing one could do. However, to be coerced into it in such a way rubbed me the wrong way. Still, this was helping the others., right?I mean, Zechs was a giant flake, and Errin was insufferable, but we were all in this together, right?

“Fine,” I sighed, “I'll do this, to help you all. However, I want you to know that I''ll quit if this gets too weird.”

Jake grinned, “Well, that's good, because otherwise, we'd need to drug you or something. You already have an appointment in an hour's time.”

“WHAT?”

“You think we just put this plan into action now? No, I've been concocting this master stroke for a few days now, and drummed up quite a bit of business for this little venture. Now,” Jake pulled out a slinky black dress. Eying it, I wasn't sure if it would even cover my backside, considering how high the hem was. “Put this on. Oh, and these, too,” Jake commanded, producing a pair of elaborate slippers I wasn't sure were glass or a fine transparent stone. Either way, as I donned this unusual footwear, I resolved to walk very slowly. Once attired, I felt taller, somewhat more stately, and much more self-conscious.

“There, now you're ready. He'll be in the front room. Go get'im kiddo,” Jake called, giving me a thumbs up as I shot daggers at him with my glare.

“I'm older than you, you know,” I spat, as I stomped off as daintily as I could in my delicate shoes. Arriving at the front room with only three trips, I found a tall, gangly young man with pimples adorning his face and a shock of brown hair. He wore the generic armor along with quite impressive looking goggles, and I got the impression more and more as I looked at him that this player was even more of a novice than I.

“Um. H-hi. I'm Lancelysander,” he said, fidgeting, as I reciprocated his greeting, “I've never done this before, so I hope you're okay with me messing up a little.”

“You're....Fine,” I muttered, wondering in spite of myself what “Messing up” in this context could even mean,” Let's just take things nice and slow at first. What do you want to do?” His stares and fidgeting made it evident what he desired, and I continued, “Well, that aside, what brings you here to see me?”

“W-well, because girls in real life either laugh at me, or just ignore me. I want to be with them, but it's too hard. They all are more interested in other guys who play sports and have big cars. I don't do any of that, and I can't drive. My eyes are too bad,” Lancelysander said, as I nodded.

“Then, why not do things to make yourself better? Go out and have adventures in the real adventures? Make them see your worth? Make yourself better, and they'll see you're a man of integrity and virtue,” I offered, as he brightened, excitedly hugging me. It would've been a touching gesture if he hadn't decided to also cop a feel.

“Thanks! I really appreciate that you talked to me like this! You're really easy to talk to, Deegal! However,” he coughed, “I did pay a thousand platinum gems, so if you don't mind, I want to see some skin.”

“Oh, right,” I muttered, the hopes that he'd forget dashed. My cheeks flaring red, as I motioned for him to follow me. Once inside, I turned to him, my cheeks glowing as I coughed, straightening up, and arching my back in what I imagined was a very sensual pose.

“Sooooo, I motion to Lancelysander, saucily enticing him,” I called, beckoning him with a sultry waggle of my finger, as he looked at me coolly.

“What are you even doing?” Lancelysander asked, as I stared at him in kind. Thinking on the mechanics of the game engine and the world I now dwelt, I realized my error. Pantomiming the act would indeed look bizarre when seen outside of the lens of the game.

“I thought that's how's it done,” I mumbled, as I inwardly sighed. I turned away, hiking up my skirt, as I eyed him coyly.

“Do with me as you will,” I said flatly, as he nodded. What happened between us wasn't romantic or beautiful, or even that fun, as I tried not to think about the heavy breathing behind me. He gasped. I shuddered in terror, trying not to dwell on it, all while horrifying thoughts crept through my mind. “S-should I be worried? I mean, my race and his, we came from the same source, right?  W-will something happen?” I bit my lip in fear. While creating my character, Zechs gave me a quick rundown of the Floof Clan.

“Your race are demihuman beastmen, born from a god and human women. You're the closest beastman race to humans, but also the most alien in their culture,” He explained. I didn't think much of it at the time, but now worry filled my very soul. Ignorant of my duress, Lancelysander rummaged in his money pouch and handed me a dozen more platinum gems as I rose, straightening my skirt back over myself. Well, as best as the garment could, anyways.

“Here's some gems for cab fare. Thanks for the talk. You're really pretty, Miss Deegal. I may come back and talk more with you,” he called, and left with a wave, as I looked at the money and then at his back as he stepped out of the guild house.

“B-but this is MY home,” I called, to no one in particular. Left alone with my own fear and guilt, I stepped out of the guild house, and wandered the streets. Without a destination in mind, I put one foot in front of another, hoping to drown out my worry with thoughts of life passing around me.

“I never thought about it when I agreed, but...I may have seriously messed up. So cavalier with sex. You dumb idiot,” I grumbled, masking my worry. What if I really was pregnant now? Recalling what Zechs told me about the Floof Clan and their demigod origins did little to assuage my regret, forcing me to walk ever faster.  As I walked along, biting my thumb, I heard a bemused chuckle and turned to see Pai Zuri with her hands on her hips and a grin on her lips. In my funk, I walked right to The Rice Paddy without even meaning to.

“Oh? What's got your little brow so furrowed, dear baby bird? Are you deciding to be a philosopher? That's a poor decision dressed like that. In a gown like that, you need a smile and a skip to your step. You get much more attention if you show off your sweet side,” she explained, as tears welled in my eyes.

“Mistress Pai, I-I....” I mumbled. I explained my worry, as she nodded, before giggling.

“My dear baby bird, don't worry your little head about it. Although our progenitors were born of a union between gods and human women, such is not the case anymore. The divine spark flowing through our veins shields us from such casual unions, and unless you settle for a Floof Clan man or utilize magicks, then you need not worry about such things. Honestly, you act like you're a human, or one of those...Loppo wenches, with how you're worried. Did your mother not teach you these things?” she asked, stifling her giggling, as I shook my head, “I see. Well, then, pardon my flippancy. Still, I suppose this is cause for celebration! It's not every day you have your first time! Come, tonight, the drinks are on me!”

Motioning for me to follow, I reluctantly tailed her as she piped up, “Attention everyone, our dear baby bird just experienced her first time! Let's all wish her good luck now that she joins the Clan as a full-fledged adult!” she announced proudly, as the waitresses all cheered, rushing into the back, returning with large bottles of sake, platters of fried tofu, and endless bowls of udon,  With the revelry, I cracked a smile, and lost myself in the merriment. The next few hours flew by; a whirl of drinking dancing, and bad singing, until I awoke the next day in an unfamiliar bed. Jumping to my feet, I spun around, getting my bearings, as my hands hardened into fists, ready to smash anyone at a moment's notice. Spinning about, I found Dennis as she squeaked with fright.

“P-please don't hit me! I brought you back to my home last night! You were really drunk and I wanted to ensure you got some sleep in a safe place!” I glared at her, as she continued, “I promise, I didn't do anything to you! I just changed you as you kind of threw up all over yourself. I mean, unless you didn't want me to do all that,” she said, as I lowered my fist. I stomped away, as she waved, “Thank you, though. You made me very happy.”

I spun around, eyes blazing as she shrieked in fright, “WHAT DO YOU MEAN?” I growled.

“Last night. You thanked me. No one's ever done that before,” Dennis whispered as I eyed her.

“Well, I...Huh. Thank you, then. I'll be seeing you,” I said, shaking her hand as she nodded enthusiastically, waving as I scowled, resolving to unleash my ire upon Jake. As I strode purposefully towards the guild house, I realized to my horror that among my subclasses was the new addition of...

“Streetwalker? Really? What sort of sick joke is this?” I growled, as I stepped into the guild house. “Jake! Get your blasted little butt out here! You and I need to talk!”  I roared. No one answered. Walking through the entire building, I found nary another soul, and inwardly, I sighed with relief. I didn't want to show off my hurt to those fools, anyways. This way, no one would be the wiser. And if Jake asked me to do that again? Well, I'll let him get out there and work for his supper. Donning my gi and usual shoes, I stomped out, resolving to punch at least three people, and in so doing, nearly ran right into Unipopcorn. Arrayed with her knights behind her, she snorted as I jumped back away from her.

“Watch! Your! Step, you! Where is that insufferable Photon Breaker you were with earlier? I have need to speak with him,” she demanded bluntly, as I arched a brow.

“I don't know. I just got back, and I'm kind of in a hurry myself. What do you want, anyways?”

“I need assistance with a raid boss nearby. I thought perhaps your plucky friend may be of some use. However...” she looked me up and down with serious intent, before speaking up once more, “You look capable, and you also defeated the Midgard Zworma. You may be able to assist us. Would you be willing to join us?”

I pondered it for a minute. Jake would probably hate it if I went off and adventured with another group. “Okay, then, Uni. Can I call you Uni? Where are we going, anyways?”

She grimaced, before mumbling, “That is acceptable.  We are questing to the Pyramid of Ayin; the Obsidian Tomb. You best prepare for a serious fight, then.”

“Gotcha,” I said, rushing back inside. Grabbing as many potions as I could stuff into my pack as I could from the commons box, and ran back outside. Unipopcorn nodded, and we set out into the foothills not seen in Zechs and my grinding to defeat the Midgard Zworma.

“So, what's in this tomb, anyways?” I asked, as we slowly crossed the rocky hills.

Unipopcorn arched a brow at my question, “Are you familiar with the history of this world?”

“Um, not really,” I admitted,” I mean, there were gods defeated by space demons, right?”

Unipopcorn nodded,” That was indeed the case. The gods, drunk on power after they persecuted the Human nation, were blindsided by a gang of demons. These demons, the Planetes, possessed powerful magic and strange secret arts, destroyed the gods and began their rule over the Heavens. One of the first casualties of this war between the gods and these interlopers, was Ayin, the war goddess. She was a hellion, destroying three of their number before she was herself killed.  Because of how early it was in the conflict, she was given a stately burial and a palatial tomb. It is this tomb we will be visiting.”

“Oh! But, why are we going there?” I asked, as Unipopcorn gritted her teeth.

“Because to fight back against the Planetes, we must gain the wisdom and secrets of the last ones to battle them. Now, if I may, what were you doing all by yourself? I've always seen you all together? N-not that I've been keep tabs on you all or anything,” she replied.

“I was out making money for the guild, ERPing because the others want platinum gems to go chronocyst grinding later,” I spat, as the knights around me gasped audibly, and Uni grimaced.

“You'd...do that? Are you that desperate for money?” she asked incredulously.

“Not me, but Jake was adamant that we needed vast sums of cash,” I spat, “I was indifferent to the whole thing...'Til I did it.”

“I-I see,” Uni said, dropping the subject, as a large black pyramid loomed in the distance, I gathered this was our destination. As we neared, I gawked at this massive structure, its entire surface carved with delicate letters of a type I couldn't read. Stepping beside a large door, I stared at the large entrance, as a squad of Uni's knights hefting a large ram, smashed the door in.

“That seemed easy,” I quipped, as Uni eyed me coolly.

“That's because the next bit is going to be all the harder. The only reason this is so easy is because the gods knew no one would be foolish enough to do what we would,” Uni countered. Stepping into the pyramid, I found the complex gloomy, with the only light coming from glowing crystals affixed to the walls. Skittering shadows slunk about, and I snorted at the dingy corridors as my foot stepped on a skull, smashing it, causing me to jump back with a yelp. Looking down at the floor, I gasped, staring at the multitude of skeletons scattered across the floor,

“Do you see what I mean now, Deegal? This place is dangerous,” she stated, motioning for me to follow. We slunk along the dank corridors , as we passed dark dead-ends filled with gilded sarcophagi, long faded murals depicting fantastic figures battling terrible monsters, and the bones of previous explorers.

“What are we even searching for here?” I whispered, as Uni scanned the walls, floor and ceiing.

“We are looking for two artifacts; The Last Chronicle, a sort of history of the opening parts of the war and the Cleaver of Ayin, the war goddess  If we can gain these two mystic instruments, then our battles for the future will be all the easier.”

“You keep saying that, but what does that even mean? Battle for the future?”I asked, as Uni paused, turning slowly to me, sweat forming on her brow as she pointed down the corridor as I saw a hovering light. Spying this sight, I sucked in a breath of fright, as a ghoulish vision glided silently past.  Standing a head taller than I, with the head of a scarab, the figure possessed giant flowing wings , with  a faintly glowing halo above its head. The light I spied before was a lantern hefted like this floating angelic figure like a weapon. My heart shuddered with fright as if gripped by a fear unknown to me. While worried, this utter terror was completely alien to me, as a title materialized above its head.

[Obsidian Scarab Attendant]

Divine Beast Class

Level 199

Gripped by this unknown fear, I let lose a muffled shriek, as the Scarab Attendant jerked towards me, its large eyes narrowing, as its torch flared.

[Kiss from a Mourning Rose] shimmered above it, as a wracking pain shot through my chest as I noticed a beautiful tattoo of a rose bled over my chest. My skin darkened, and the fear in my heart grew, as I stood on the spot, Uni's cries ringing hollowly in my ears. Visions flooded my mind; of a friend long-gone, Maxwell, a friend I knew when I was only four, forced to move from when my father transferred, a first love, lost in confusion and inexperience, setting out to college, only to have my experience ruined with foolish partying and procrastination. All these happy memories tainted by awful endings, as I slumped forward, blanketed with pain, shame and regret, as the angelic Attendant loomed over me.

“Mortal, see now your sin. All life is beauty, but mortal lives are transient, and will inevitably lead to pain. For the crime of your trespass upon this most holy ground, you will die, alone, and surrounded by your mistakes,” it boomed in a crisp voice, as I barely managed to stay upright, tears flooding my cheeks as my heart chilled, and I fell backwards, the warmth and hope I felt before at this adventure fading.

“Deegal, you total idiot!” Uni whimpered, clutching an ornate blade, as I lolled towards her as I felt my life slipping away. True, I would probably come back, but what would happen to Unipopcorn and the others? Yes, they're strong, but if this is the first monster we encountered, what awful beasties lurked deeper in?”

A shimmering ball of light hovered over me, as I grabbed it, relishing the warmth and energy flood through my body, as the Attendant flitted back several inches, its eyes growing wide.

“It makes sense now; the brazen flippancy of the statutes of Heaven, the supernatural will, the degenerate dress, you are a child of Hu Shian,” the Attendant declared, as Unipopcorn snickered, emboldened by my second wind.

“Those statutes are as dead as your masters, Angel. I am a servant of the Soldonna, the lone living god. Submit to me and let us investigate this place,” Uni demanded, as the Attendant paused.

“Soldonna? I know not such a divinity. All I see are interlopers upon the place granted to me as custodian. Now, I will cleanse this filth,” it declared as it bellowed,” Hear me all those you who walked upon this sanctified land. Rise once again and fulfill the debt you accrued in your lives with your greed.”

His words echoed across the corridors, as the entire complex grew quiet, with only the rising sound of cluttering and clacking rising in the distance as my heart sank, knowing what this sound meant.

“Uni, we need to leave. Now,” I barked, as Uni cocked her head at my sudden declaration.”

“Why?”

“Because there's about to be a lot of new frien--” I managed, interrupted by  the creaking as the walls crumbled with the clawing of a thousand skeletal fingers. Surrounded on all sides by an irrepressible horde of unliving interlopers, my fear turned to determination as I realized flight was no longer possible.

“If that's the case, then we need to fight! I have a mission, and I'm not going to die here! Soldonna guide me!” Uni keened, slashing down at the horde of undead before us with her glowing blade, scything away a path as we scrambled forward. We ran further and further into the complex, with every inch swarming with undead as I wondered how man of these were new monsters or were merely other zombies we dispatched already, returned to the fight with whatever wizardrt driving them to fight on even now. Before I gained an answer to this, we rounded a corner into a large  room, much larger than any other we encountered, as the hordes of undead hung back. Catching our breath, I took stock of our surroundings. The room itself was bare, save for the elaborate friezes of ancient gods and demons, with a single adornment in the room being a stone slab in the center of the room. Upon the stone slab was a small black bundle, which I hesitantly pored over. Realizing it was a book, I opened it, and much to my surprise, I could read the strange, curved script.

“What does it say?”

“And so, Ayin He, of the Hellion, passed from this earth, pierced by the lance of Mars Hecate and the wicked demon's insidious blood. Know this who seek this Chronicle, that gods do not die easily or with peace. Take care, for your lives will truly be interesting ones,” I recited, as I looked around the room, realization dawning in my mind.

“Deegal, what's the matter?”

“That book, what I read is why the undead aren't chasing us in here,” I said, looking around the room.

“I don't get it, what are you even saying?” Uni demanded, as I looked her in the eye.

“There's something in this room even worse than the undead,” I answered, as the friezes on the walls creaked, rising from their poses, as they knelt, their brows to the ground as one, as the central frieze, a wild-haired woman wielding a plethora of swords, axes and scythes, opened its eyes, as the frieze cracked like a cocoon and the desiccated husk of a mummy, easily six and a half feet tall, rose from the ruined frieze. Adorned with what assuredly were once fine silks and even in the dim light of the lantern crystals, her gilded chains and multitude of gems and precious amulets were plain to see. Blinking with eyes long rotted away, this corpse stumbled forward unsteadily as the undead ceased their clattering, all kneeling before this newcomer, as Uni and I froze.

“Where are my arms? Where are the trumpets? I am the Hellion, the Corpse-Crow! The one who Laughs for Gore and Song! Where are my armies?” it demanded in a raspy voice, as Uni and I looked at one another,” No one? No answer?”

“Hellion,” Uni said gently,” You are dead. You died fighting Mars Hecate. I merely sought whatever wisdom I could find in the quest to avenge you and your siblings against the Planetes.”

“Dead. Dead. Dead.....dead,” the mummy replied, as if tasting the word each time, “I do not recall this. You lie, mortal. Lie, seeking my throne for yourself! Now, your blood will feed my blade.”

Immediately, the friezes rose, pressing against the walls, as the room expanded, and a large black-edged serrated sword slowly descended from the ceiling, as the mummy clenched it tightly.

“Grialphur, my dear pet. Drink your fill of these vermin” the mummy cooed, as the blade vibrated with a deep thrumming, filling the air with an uncomfortable heaviness.  I swallowed, as I entered a fighting stance, desperately ignoring the blinking World Ogre Mask on my skill tab. Uni lunged forward, her blade flashing in a golden glow. The Hellion parried the stroke, lunging with a riposte too fast to follow, as my body jerked forward, lunging with a fearsome right hook, grazing the Hellion's cheek. She screeched with anger, while Unipopcorn jumped over me, seizing the initiative with a downward stroke of her shining sword. This surprise attack bit into the Hellion's shoulder, as she gurgled with pain and anger, slicing with Grialphur wildly in response.

“Get back, “ I roared, tossing Unipopcorn away, the blade sliced my chest cruelly, as I staggered back. Focusing my anger into my hands, I instinctively used my Kindly Jab Technique, one of the various healing techniques the Jetter possessed, stabbing my fingers into my chest as I felt the sweet sting of my body healing itself. With this counterattack, the Hellion howled, her body bulging, as a plethora of new arms sprouted from her body as her body filled out more, forming into a fierce woman with wild hair and glowing eyes. Narrowing her gaze to me, she raised her hands as numerous weapons materialized into her grip. Dashing forward, she was a cyclone of malice poised as the World Ogre Mask skill flared ever brighter, and I succumbed to the anger in my fear. Catching her initial strokes with  twin scythes with my bare hand, I ignore the pain as I twisted about, catching her in the face with a Screaming Jetter Kick. This brutal riposte did little to faze her, as she stabbed me time and again. I  didn't care, though, as a glowing light billowed around me, and I felt my wounds close, as I grinned. Apparently, even my battle aura desired to see me succeed.

“What manner of power is this?” the Hellion demanded, as “ huffed, trying to contain my strength,” This isn't the power of Hu Shian's children. Where did you learn such power little one?”

“From the World-Devouring Ogre Effigy, you bint! I'm going to smash you till there's nothing but splintered bones left,” I hissed, as the Hellion cackled.

“I...I see. Show me your resolve, then, little mortal,” she mocked, as I felt my wrath billow in my throat as I unleashed a World Ogre Scream, using the opportunity to rocket forward with a follow-up Screaming Jetter Kick. The Hellion braced for the Scream, hit by both the wave of rage and the  bone-shattering kick. I grinned maniacally at my assured victory, as not even a god could hope to withstand the apocalyptic might of my blows. Then the Hellion sighed.

Her arms lashed out with lightning speed, piercing my body time and again.

I screamed, collapsing backwards, as I hefted my fingers to my chest, pushing my chakra points once more, hoping my body had enough strength to heal itself. The Hellion loomed over me, as she shrieked in pain, as a golden blade shot forward, piercing her side. In that one moment, Unipopcorn rushed forward, grabbing me, as she dragged me away from the melee.

“Uni, what are you doing?” I gasped, as she frowned.

“I'm saving you, you idiot,” she hissed, all traces of her haughty affectation gone in the heat of the moment,” I can't fight this thing by myself. Besides, she seems far more interested in you than me.”

“Well, uh, thanks for the assist, “ I managed, as I felt my wounds knit back together, observing the fight. Uni possessed supreme skill and speed with her blade, but the Hellion was just as fast, and armed with six times as many blades, gave as much as she took in their tense back and forth.

“Impressive, human, that you and your little consort are able to stand up to me, but this ends now,” the Hellion mocked, stepping back as her extra arms vanished.

“I won't let you! Shining Solar Ray!” Uni roared, launching a flash of golden light at the Hellion as a wall of blade wielding limbs erupted from the walls, the shadows and even the air itself. Uni stepped back, gawking at this naked display.

“Surprised? I am the Army made Flesh, the Bella Belli, the War Child. You are a mere little girl, restricted to two hands and two feet to wage war. The entire world is my body, my weapon. You never could win,”  the Hellion called. Unipopcorn gritted her teeth, as I rose, feeling my anger rise once more, the World Ogre's rage swept over me. However, unlike before, a new skill tab flashed beside the World Ogre mask's tab, and I hesitantly pored over it.

“World Ogre Cleaver, huh? Well, here goes nothing,” I growled, as I felt a swelling of power in my throat, as I plucked something off my tongue, finding a darkly glowing large, serrated blade in my grip.

“Oh,” I thought with what scant musing the World Ogre Mask afforded me, as I leaped before Uni, batting aside each blade turned against her in turn. There was no finesse or skill in my strokes, only the raw power and anger I possessed as a Jetter funneled through the lens of the World Ogre Mask.  As the legion of limbs stood bested back, I leveled the large weapon in my grip towards the Hellion, unleashing all my remaining anger, frustration and hope.

“This is it. If I die now, after this,” I thought as I felt my stroke bite into her, “Then I'll have no regrets. There couldn't have been anything else I could've done.”

Looking up at the Hellion, I saw the stroke merely scratched her face, as she wiped the small line of blood off her face, licking it gingerly, as she blinked, while I jumped back and waited for her inevitable counterattack.

Finally, she spoke up,“I-I remember. I do remember. The others were afraid, far more afraid than that idiotic tower....And then those ten came. I slew three of them; Eris Polus, Ceres Mnemosyne,  Phobos Phoebe, but then that witch with her lances arrived, and I felt something I never thought I'd experience before....Death. I died. I saw the funeral the others gave me, and my mind wandered the world. I hoped someone would succeed me, that Grialphur would be adopted by another. It seems my hope was correct. Thank you, daughters of Aleph Lamed and Hu Shian. I may return to my rest, and dream with those who dwell in the dark places we resided before Humans...”

Dwindling like a dimming flame back into her mummy form, the Hellion retreated into her frieze-sarcophagus, as the statues rose, drawing the room back to its original size, while the undead clattered to the ground, mere piles of bones once more. Grialphur floated to the pedestal beside The Last Chronicle, as I reached for it, hope and pride swelling in my breast, as a blossom of red splattered across the pedestal as I gasped, looking down at the wound as a chuckle echoed across the room.

“I'm sorry senoriters, but that zan-bah-tow is mine,” they called, as a scruffy blond man stepped forward, tossing the blood off his blade while sheathing it in a single motion.

#Adventure #fantasy #fiction #Photon Breaker Zechs

[save-the-spiral]

another strike, another crown fallen

(Warning for mentions of child death and murder. The theurgist was just a man, once. Here’s a fic with the theurgist when he has already risen to power, and here's a fic with the theurgist killing the prince of embers.)

“Was it worth it?” The queen of the Storm Kingdom rasped roughly. “Speak the truth.”

The theurgist was speechless in that moment.

The other monarchs had never asked him such a question. They had pleaded, cursed him, had continued fighting until the bitter end.

But they never asked anything of him, of their murderer.

Was it worth it?

His mind went immediately to his children, as always. Violet, the eldest who he loved even when she was at her most rebellious. Mari, the adopted middle child who he loved the same as the others even when she stubbornly thought otherwise. Thistle and Forest, the twins who he loved endlessly in all their quiet intelligence that spoke far beyond their years.

His children.

Was it worth it?

The way Thistle’s body crumbled in his hands, a plume of dust rising up like a mushroom cloud, a cloying and sickeningly sweet scent surrounding him and making him sneeze, the smell a typical aftermath to horrid acts of necromancy.

He had used spores, from special fungi he summoned. The Queen of the Death Kingdom had choked, a slow and agonizing and lonely end, a deserved end, given that she had attacked the Life Kingdom, had delivered the first blow to send the lands to ruin. He, a simple healer with a family, had caused her to fall to her knees, had watched as her coppery skin darkened further in her suffocation.

The way Forest has screamed, had cried for help that he couldn’t give as he slumped by his dying child, helpless as he watched the little boy’s blood stain the snow pink, a large, spear-like icicle piercing his son’s abdomen.

He had used his knives, had felt the personal kill justified. He looked the Snowbound King in his dark eyes as he stabbed him, again and again until he had come back to himself, had come back to the horrified looks on the Ice Kingdom’s court’s faces.

The way Violet’s bright purple hair burned, how she burned as brightly in death as she had in life. She was a charred husk, and the theurgist sat there, his firstborn dead before him, her arm outstretched to some unknown salvation. In that moment, the theurgist knew he would never see that loving salvation as she will. He is irredeemable in his need for vengeance.

He killed the prince of embers from across a battle-scarred field. He had waved a hand and vines rose, obeying his commands. His powers no longer for healing, now a snake he has charmed into doing his bidding. He kills the boy dispassionately, but still laughs at the death of an arrogant child, hoping somehow that they could switch places before the burning venom truly set in.

The way Mari is still missing.

He had tortured this once noble queen who was said to know where the last life wizards hide, but now she is utterly lost and asking one thing of him.

Was it worth it?

His fangs are bared and his mouth wide in a horrid imitation of a grin. Tears began falling, yet still he hissed his response.

Was it worth it?

“Yes.”

#Wizard101 #wizzy #wizzy101 #wizzy fandom #w101 #Writing #The Serpentine King #wiz101 #wizzy art #im sad so now u all have to be sad too #Mahamari Jade #this made me almost cry not gonna lire #lie

[alberteamllc]

Wild & Pure & Forever Free, Part 1 8/22/2019

Starring

Flinty McClintock

Bon Jean Bovi

Daedalus Inuria Featuring Oskar Harrow Inquisitor Adrian Harrow Steely McBeam Katydid McBeam Introducing... Philippe McBeam! Pitchfork 424 Pitchfork 426 Mistral Kurunthadi Princess Astrid Insatsi Queen Elbise Insatsi Dame Feris Svette Greg Hogswain Haurchefant “Egg” Hogswain Viceroy Pitchfork PM of the West Triamond Bell PM of the East Cambina Bell Ramon Silulimesh Golof Silulimesh Carmine Whistling “Tiger” Beatrice Catamount Washy Whillikers Chanchala Chala Sanuwa Sawbones Vos the Armorer Helena Merkava

-To be clear, Bovi had a wonderful prom. He reunited Harrow and his estranged husband Oskar, he taught everyone a grand new dance, he convinced two Pitchforks that their love for one another was natural and beautiful, and he helped Katydid deliver a healthy baby halfling, who he suggested they name Philippe. He was briefly alarmed by the sight of a bald Flinty impersonator but was otherwise able to enjoy most of his evening, easily winning the Desan Diamond from Mistral in a heated dance-off.

-In the present, Bovi successfully rallies the panicking crowd at the palace and helps them evacuate peacefully, stopping to heal several trampled and diseased people. He rendezvous with the princess, queen, and Svette, who sadly tell him that Ardis and Panther are presumed dead after rescuing them from Sonny. In the chaos, the Peacemasters are hurried away along with Pitchfork.

-He sends them off towards the old CC headquarters then sends the smoke from random flower bonfires out towards the sea, then rushes back to the RF base.

-There, Flinty is in a furious huff, with a ragged skeleton crew of party members-- Goloff, Ramon (who stayed at home), Carmine, and a reconstituted Daedalus. She catches up with Bovi and proposes that all they can do is raid the prison and try to free as many halflings as they can, unless her brother and co. show up soon with a better plan.

-Eventually a slightly sobered up Beatrice appears at the door, dragging Ardis, unconscious. She tells them that a prison break is already underway and urges them to consider, without any better alternative, repeating Mungo & Hambeaux’s solution to the last plague, despite the potential loss of life. She’s pessimistic because she says her ring, which keeps her connected to MF, has gone dead. He’s nowhere. Flinty starts hollaring and demanding to know if anyone knows a wizard. Beatrice snaps and tells her how to contact one but warns her its a bad idea and an unforgivable error. Flinty insists and Beatrice coldly tells her they’re done, their alliance is finished, and that she’ll do everything she can to inform Ardis what kind of person her leader is. She then hands over a worn envelope with a sigil inside, which Flinty recites.

-Spooky doings ensue and Washy Whillikers appears on the sofa to chat and grant a boon. He casts Wish to reverse Vejovis’ trap and unseal Puffin’s little dimension, freeing him and Tavi at the very least. As payment he demands either Fiz or Flinty’s house, but when she hesitates he puckishly offers to let her pass the buck: he’ll let her off the hook, but on Ardis’ wedding day he’ll come a-calling to collect his due and destroy something she loves as much as Flinty loves her fucking house or her weasel she can’t even remember to roll initiative for. Flinty, being an asshole, swiftly assents, presuming that Ardis will never get married anyway, and Washy vanishes, albeit not before giving Bovi five gold pieces as a treat. Bovi and Puffin and Tavi, dazzled and dumbfounded by the mention of a hypothetical wedding, argue about what third base is for some reason and Flinty is once again shocked at what they teach people in grad school. None of the three seem interested in or impressed by the lich.

-Conferring with Puffin and Tavi with Flinty’s findings at the palace in mind, they decide all they can do is head to the academy to try and convince Vos to let them use his relay system. Since Tavi is a wanted criminal and Puffin is a wanted criminal specifically wanted for killing academy interns they put on disguises. At the gates they meet Chanchala and Sawbones, the only Cats who seemingly made it out of prom in one piece. Chanchala gets an earful and lets them pass.

-However, the academy is in disarray, Vos’ facility strewn with bodies. Bovi tries the intercom and gets in contact with a terrified researcher, who says Helena came and killed a lot of people, who then rose from the dead infected with plague but blossoming. Before heading up to help, Bovi runs back to the entrance and borrows Sawbones from Chanchala, something which Puffin is far from comfortable with.

-The party splits in two to take care of the spore monsters. Ominously, some of them transform in mid-fight into celestial, armored beings who attack with radiant light and fluid, transforming metal. After a somewhat dicey fight everyone regroups. They rescue the trapped researcher and more portentiously they locate Vos, stripped of much of his armor, almost vivisected, and helpless under a pile of rubble. Everyone is startled to discover beneath his armor a frail, sickly looking boy no older than 14 or 15. Humiliated but still haughty, he begs for them to look away. Puffin loses all of his chill and goes to throw up after being hit in the face with his own gilded leg-bones. He and Flinty want to leave him there to rot, but Tavi and Bovi want to free him and get his assistance. Daedalus says nothing because Jules’ family is watching Supernatural and I think he’s making dinner. Eventually they squeeze a little info out of him and Flinty convinces him to help, in spite of his cold assurance that the plan he’s cooked up with Pitchfork, which requires tremendous amounts of human and halfling sacrifice, will be the one to stop the plague and Vejovis in their tracks. He tears off one of his limbs to help them bypass doors, and draws a vial of his blood, after Flinty recognizes him as the original test subject she glimpsed in her vision back in the prince’s sealed offices. Bovi’s curiosity is piqued by Vos’ description of Helena’s strategies-- attacking aggressively and scavenging her foes for parts, incorporating their weapons and armaments into her own body. He asks if Vos has anything he could use as a trap-- a weapon or something he could lure her into absorbing that would hurt her. Vos describes a vortex trap he keeps in his office to stop thieves, which Bovi makes a note of picking up. Puffin finally gets his shit together when Sawbones silently comes to him and offers him her hand. As they leave Flinty is torn, and almost gives into the desire to just shoot Vos while he’s lying there helpless. However she convinces herself that his arm thing might not work if he’s dead, and leaves him to his own devices.

-The group heads off with Vos’ arm to use the lift and travel up the facility’s tower. Everyone is exhausted and drained, so Puffin hesitantly offers to allow them to use his dimension as a temporary camp site, although he warns this is a dangerous and costly trick. They rest, and Tavi attempts to make amends for Flinty with the fight they had earlier in the evening, and for her caginess, but Flinty is in no mood for peace. 

-After resting they head out onto the cat-walks to the final stretch of the tower, and are met with the disembodied but hauntingly beautiful voice of Helena, a far cry from the hollow, shaky voice they’re used to. She offers them peace and health in exchange for joining her in the body of Vejovis. Nobody is that interested. She swiftly shows she’s not messing around by partially dematerializing Puffin and hurling Sawbones off the bridge to the ground far below, but manifests to talk to Bovi. She is now entirely armor with no body to be seen, hovering and radiant. Bovi offers her the bomb which she eagerly accepts before pausing to monologue a bit. She talks rapturously about the grace of Vejovis, and the gift he gave her after she’d pledged herself to so many false causes-- the torturous, twisting ministrations of Vos and the hollow sisterhood of the Crystal Cats. She describes in mythical terms Vejovis as a young doctor coming to the city to cure his two sick children, and how he was heartbroken and inspired by the many sick people he found in the metropolis, how his sympathy turned into a drive to curing everyone, to ensuring noone would suffer again. Flinty is familiar with Vejovis’ early days in the service of Prince Anselm and can scarcely conceal her disgust. Helena continues, talking about the perfect gifts he provided to his two children, and how ungrateful they were. In particular she derides Vos’ failures to live up to his father, and how much happier she is having turned her back on him and even having had the opportunity to give him a taste of his own medicine, what she describes as an edifying lesson in pain. Flinty puts two and two together and thinks back to Leucosia’s harrowing account of the Weeper’s empty coffin and presumably has an oh shit moment. 

-Having said her peace, Helena again offers friendship to the party. They’re not sold so she thanks them for the gift and puts the bomb into her chestplate. It explodes, wracking her body and damaging her armor, which seems to revert her a bit to her good old crazed personality. She begins to snarl and threaten, promising to show them the wages of their sin, etc, deploying the myriad weapons systems hidden away in her new form. They ready their weapons for what looks to be a perilous fight high above the city and mere meters away from their goal. -Meanwhile, so many people are missing or presumed dead! Here’s a partial list of important ones: Panther! Mungo Fungo! Hologram Hambeaux! Niko! Ilan! Leucosia! Guilotte! Aramingo! The Lamondian Royal Family & retinue, including Lamitt Pampepato! Steely, Katydid, and Baby Philippe! The entirety of the Bent Nail! Albertine Rosenbee! Tartuffe! The heads of House Sarmasik! Mistral! The Eggbabies! Maddy and Tantan! Pitchforks 424 & 426! Harrow and his husband! Who was changed and who was dead?!?? No, they all walked to Wawa together for night hoagies.

[creativerogues]

The Folio of Friendly and Furious Fey: Part Two

Creatures from the Feywild, a parallel plane to the prime In this vibrant world these fey have a habit for speaking in rhyme

There are countless creatures who lie beyond the veil of trees The sprites, sylphs, nymphs, or dryads being only a few of these

Their deities, associated with either the Seelie or Unseelie courts Wielding the power of nature these creatures offer cunning retorts

While some fey are kind, often showing benevolence There are often dark, murderous things that don’t see the relevance

Devouring travelers, kidnapping children, bringing misfortune for all Redcaps, Quicklings and Gremlins will gut you for just being too tall…

Ceolletta, the Minstrel Maiden (By totallyimportantcolor)

There is music everywhere, for those who can hear it and none embody this more fully than Ceolletta, the Minstrel Maiden. She walks across the planes, seeking out music in all its forms, followed by a retinue of minstrels, bards, poets and the like. When viewed from a far, they seem a formless, colourless mass. A writhing haze across the land that muddies your senses.

This is not the case. Though her people are decked in crystals and garments of pure colorlessness, they are not bland. Every step of theirs jingle and pound, creating an intense rhythm that can be felt throughout the earth. Even the lights dance to their music, as their prismatic appearance spreads rainbows in their wake. People often flock to her, hoping to enjoy an aural experience beyond any other. This often is their downfall.

Ceolletta does welcome visitors, in fact, she courts them openly. Suggesting and auditioning people for her orchestra everywhere she goes. Always she is happy to patron those whose gifts please her, and if someone was to show her something new, she would be delighted and is one of the most likely Fey to give a magical gift.

Unfortunately, these gifts all have a downside. You see, the song never ends. Always there is music, from the howling winds to the beating steps of an army. And every note belongs to her, or would if she had her way. Once she accepts you into her melody, you belong to her, forever more.

There have been tales of people escaping, or rather, being thrown out of her procession. They speak, those that are able, of endless playing. Of songs being sung word for word, for eternity. Of unchanging rhythms. From what these poor souls have explain, you play for her, forever, or you are thrown out. Cursed with the inability to enjoy her sweet gifts, sent to live a life, in silence.

Rakar, the Prince of Fungus (By tallplushie)

Ages ago, when the queens of the Feywild waged war upon each other, the Queen of the Unseelie court crafted a cunning and malicious green dragon to act as her adviser. Rakar, the young wyrmling grew to immense wisdom at a young age, his dragon blood meshing with the powerful magiks of the Queen of Twilight, and rose to become her trusted majordomo.

As the Queen of Dawn pressed the Unseelie forces back, the Queen of Twilight’s power was sundered at the Battle of Treant Grove, and many of her faithful were left to die as she made her retreat back into darkness. Among the dying was her almost son, her draconic creation, Rakar, the Prince of the Unseelie Court. With his dying strength Rakar dragged himself into the Shimmering River and, cast downstream by the enchanted current, surfaced ashore in the material plane.

Rakar died that day, succumbing to his grievous wounds, but he died long before the sundering of the Astral Plane, and the death of the gods. The Demon Queen of Fungi, Zuggtmoy, spreading her blight across the continent of Leabrathis, came across the corpse of the dragon, and planted her spores into his decrepit husk. Resurrecting him to fit her awful design, Rakar was cursed to spread her blight for eternity, and set about creating a lair and amassing his horde - all the while festering, the landscape around him to atrophying. When it came time for Rakar to server his new Queen, his flesh would boil and blacken, and in his rage he would serve Zuggtmoy’s will, but he maintained his sanity in secret, keeping the blight from his mind with subtle fey magic.

Eons passed, and Rakar had grown to tremendous size, the spores in his body rotting out his eyes and eating at his heart. When the Gods-war rocked the lands, Rakar used the last of his magical power to resist his rage, and Zuggtmoy fell at the hands of Orcus without the aid of her slave prince. Left to his horde, Rakar has slumbered in his lair since, and with his power expended, the fungus has begun the process of consuming his mind.

Civilizations have come and gone, and tales of the ancient green dragon have flitted across the breeze like insects, and still Rakar slumbers atop his horde, deep within his lair. The Prince of Fungus rots alone, insanity brewing in his broken mind, his amassed treasure waiting to be claimed…

Rakar is an Ancient Green Dragon who prefers to use his cunning to intimidate and befuddle his adversaries. While his fey magic is lost, his horde contains many treasures of the feywild, treasures he covets the most. His cursed spores have infected his minions, and the dungeon preceding his lair is fraught with traps, magical or otherwise. Perhaps Rakar has left his lair to lay siege to an important city in a bought of insanity, or perhaps he has stolen an artifact the party must uncover, or the party has simply heard tales of his mountain of treasure. Maybe the Unseelie Queen has had dealings with the party, and wants a message delivered to the Fungus Prince. Tread lightly, pander carefully, and bring a mask…

P.S. I know it’s been a long time since the first part was posted, but I’ve been waiting for the last few submissions to come in. And now that they have, and no one else has submitted anything. I can FINALLY post it!

Hurray! :D

#fey #archfey #feywild #knight #king #queen #elf #faerie #villains #creating cool villains #make a better villain #CreativeRogues

[ciathyzareposts]

Star Control II: Won!

There’s no one “congratulations” screen. This is the final screen of the game.

The final chapter commenced with a re-visit to the Syreen. After clearly telling me to “LEAVE” in our last encounter, I had thought that the Syreen commander was going to do something without my participation, but it turns out she was just formulating a plan. When I returned–which I imagine I could have done right away–she asked for my help in punishing the Mycons.

This was a multi-part quest. It began with the recovery of the mothballed Syreen fleet. When they had surrendered to the Ur-Quan, the Syreen had to fly their fleet to an unknown planet. All she could tell me was that it was within 200 hyperspace units, and the sun was red or orange. Betelgeuse is at 412.5, 377.0, and 200 units constitutes a fairly large radius. However, I suspected the planet would be in Ur-Quan space. I got Irene’s help with the colors, and she pointed out that the Camelopardalis constellation had quite a few orange and red stars. I started exploring them starting with the closest one to Betelgeuse, and I found the ships in the second system I explored. That was a bit of luck.

There were lots of Ur-Quan in the system, but I dodged them and delivered the Syreen pilots to their ships. I returned to the Syreen station and, largely because I was ensuring that I exhausted dialogue options, had sex with the Syreen commander.              

The developers tactfully cut to black.

             Afterwards, she explained her plan to lure the Mycon fleet to a carefully selected world and ambush them. I just had to tell them about it. I delivered the information to the Mycon and watched as the Syreen fleet left its world, engaged the Mycon fleet, and significantly reduced the latter. For the rest of the game, the Mycon territory bounced around the map, steadily shrinking. Later, in a visit to the Syreen commander, she reveled in the success of the mission but said there wasn’t much else she could do until we brought down the slave shield.            

Not quite shambled enough, as we’ll soon see.

           In the meantime, on the star map, the Ilwrath and the Thraddash were complete gone, the Pkunk were heading towards Yehat space again, and the Supox and Utwig had invaded Ur-Quan space. The Ur-Quan space, I should note, never got any smaller despite an internal civil war and an external war with me.            

The state of the galaxy towards the end.

             My next visit was to Umgah space, where I had forgotten to follow up on the Arilouleelay’s request to look in on the injured Talking Pet they’d entrusted to the cosmic otyughs. When I arrived and met with an Umgah vessel, it was clear something was wrong. They were talking robotically, had lost their sense of humor, and attacked when I kept questioning them.             

Not all is right with the Umgah.

            I didn’t mind. I don’t find the Umgah ships very hard, and I wanted to practice with my new acquisitions. The Syreen ability to lure enemy crewmmembers to their deaths (they space themselves) is cool in a horrifying way, but it takes too long to significantly damage the enemy and the Syreen primary weapon isn’t very good. I couldn’t do anything useful with the Supox ship. The Utwig ship, on the other hand, was fantastically useful. Its secondary attack raises a shield that absorbs energy damage and recharges the battery with it. Its primary attack is a widespread blast, though somewhat weak. Against the Umgah, I just had to hover outside their short range and blast them with the primary weapon, activating the secondary weapon to recharge the battery when they got within range.              

The Umgah ship isn’t much of a match for the Utwig ship.

            Eventually, I reached the Umgah homeworld, where I found myself speaking to the Talking Pet. Apparently, the Umgah experimentations had restored both its intelligence and psychic abilities, allowing him to dominate the Umgah. He tried to control us, but we had the Taalo Shield, protecting us against psychic interference. Enraged, he sent a fleet of 10 Umgah ships at us. Destroying them wasn’t too hard, but 10 is still a lot of ships. When we were done, the cowed Talking Pet agreed to come with us to help defeat the Ur-Quan.            

But only after trying to trick me first.

         Meanwhile, the feed Umgah expressed gratitude and gave us 500 units of biological data. Then, they decided it would be funny to attack me, so I had to fight a bunch more Umgah ships.

With the 500 biological data units, I returned to the Melnorme and purchased the rest of the technological upgrades that they had to offer, including auto-tracking modules to improve the aim of weapons, protection for planetary landers, and “hellbore cannons” for the flagship, none of which I ever actually used.

I was out of clues at this point and had to search deep in my notes and screenshots for what to do next. Finally, among some shots of dialogue with the Shofixti, I found reference to the Mycon testing some powerful device on Beta Brahe. Since the Syreen attack, Beta Brahe was outside the core Mycon territory, although when I arrived I still had to defeat 5 Mycon ships in a row. Fighting them was no easier than the last time I tried. They spammed their homing spores faster than I could destroy them, and I lost several ships while fighting them.                

The Utwig shop absorbs the Mycon bombs, but I had a tough time getting it close enough to the Mycon ship to blast them.

            When it was over, I recovered a “Sun Device” from the surface of Beta Brahe. This turned out to be the artifact necessary to give extra power to the Chenjesu and Mmrnmhrm unification ritual.

When I returned to Procyon, I didn’t get any additional dialogue options, so I just used the device. After a blinding flash, I was contacted by a grateful Chmmr, the name for the combined race. They did something to finish “installing” the Precursor bomb on the flagship and also gave me plans for a new fighter called an Avatar. I thought they were going to give me a way to pierce the slave shields, but there was no dialogue to that point.           

I’m having flashbacks to my honeymoon.

         Returning to starbase, I found that the Chmmr alliance had made us so rich, I no longer had any limit to the resource units I could spend. I restocked my fleet with Chmmr Avatars and some other ships, then tried to figure out what to do with my flagship. The bomb took up more than half the available module slots, so I had to greatly reduce crew and fuel capacity in order to keep any weapons at all. It turns out that I probably should have just ignored weapons entirely (since I never fought with the flagship again) and maximized crew and fuel. Either way, it worked out.             

The Precursor ship is basically just a flying bomb at this point.

           It was time to take on the Ur-Quan Sa-Matra platform, I guessed. I had no idea where it was, but I had a few hours to kill and several episodes of Dead to Me to watch in the background. I headed for the center of Ur-Quan space and started probing stars in the Crucis and Crateris constellations.

This brought me into battle with a lot of dreadnoughts, and I found the Avatars suitably powerful against them. The Avatars’ primary laser attack is cataclysmic–if you can aim it. I was less enamored of the secondary attack, which seems to hit the enemy ship with a tractor beam–although once I managed to get the timing just right and use the tractor beam to sling a dreadnought into a planet. Mostly, though, it was the same story: My clumsy fingers couldn’t evade the Kor-Ah throwing stars nor aim worth a damn, and I generally lost one Avatar to each Kor-Ah ship. (And here’s something else: I am thoroughly sick of bonking into planets while trying to maneuver around enemy ships. I don’t care if it’s “realistic.” The way the screen wraps is not “realistic,” nor intuitive, and both had me hating combat by the end of the game.) After the first one, I generally evaded the dreadnoughts and reload when I couldn’t.           

The Avatar destroys a dreadnought just before its hit points run out.

           Eventually, I found the Sa-Matra orbiting one of the planets of Delta Crateris, immediately noticeable because it had a ring of Ur-Quan dreadnoughts around it. At my word, the Talking Pet confused them and they wandered off, allowing me to approach the battle platform.             

Without the Talking Pet, I would have had a heck of a fight–but can you even get here without the Talking Pet?

            The final battle consisted of two stages. The first required me to defeat six Ur-Quan dreadnoughts, two regular and two Kor-Ah. If they’d let me fight all three of each kind in a row, it would have been a lot easier. The regular dreadnoughts are easily defeated by the Utwig ships: you just absorb their energy attacks until they run out of battery power, then hit them with your cannons. But since the Kor-Ah use a physical attack, the Utwig ship is no good against them. And you can’t alternate your own ships; once a ship warps out of combat, you can’t employ it again in the same battle.

In the end, I lost 7 ships, including all but one of my new Avatars, to the six dreadnoughts.              

Things are not going well for my fleet.

          Fortunately, the moment I defeated the ships, the Yehat suddenly appeared, the rebellious faction having overthrown the queen. The Pkunk had unified with them in the meantime, and the new queen was Pkunk. They replaced 6 of the 7 ships I lost with 3 Pkunk Furies and 3 Yehat Terminators.            

I was wondering why the Yehat civil war was taking so long. They couldn’t win until the right moment.

          The next phase required me to attack the battle platform itself. It had six shield generators on its perimeter, generating a shield and preventing me from flying my bomb into it. Also protecting it were these flying “repulsor globes”–that’s the best I can’t describe them. They didn’t do much damage, but they knocked my ships off course and made it difficult to approach the platform. It was also protected by these ships that looked like fireballs.

Most important, the platform itself seemed to have some kind of natural repulsing capability–or perhaps it was just the draw of the nearby planet. Either way, the end result was that most of my ships couldn’t get anywhere near it, nor outrun the devastating fireballs. The only ships that I could even begin to use were the Pkunk Furies. I had to use them to circle the platform, slowly diminishing the shield generators while avoiding the many repulsor globes and fireballs.

It took me five tries. I only had three Furies and if they were all destroyed, I was out of luck with any of the other ships (the Yehat Terminators could almost make it, but not quite). I’m curious how other people do it, particularly if they don’t lose as many ships as I did to the dreadnoughts and thus not have enough space for the multiple Pkunk and Yehat replacements.              

My nerves were too frayed to get a lot of screenshots during this section.

           After I finally destroyed the shield generators, I figured it was time to make a run for the center of the platform with the flagship and the bomb. Big mistake. My cumbersome flagship stood no chance against the still-active repulsor balls and fireballs. I had to reload and defeat the damned shield generators again, and it took me three more tries.

This time, I employed the rest of my ships to destroy the remaining globes and fireballs before, finally, sending my doomsday flagship into the maw of the platform. At this point, the game took over and commenced the endgame sequence.             

“Goodbye, loyal crew!”

           The sequence showed my captain escaping in a pod that seems much too small for the entire crew. In the escape pod’s viewscreen–where he is suspiciously the only one present–he sees a huge explosion and goes unconscious. He wakes up to the beautiful Syreen commander, Talana, watching over him. Talana relates that the Sa-Matra was indeed destroyed and that the rest of the Ur-Quan fleets were destroyed by the New Alliance. The captain has awoken just in time to see the slave shield disappear on Earth.          

Yes, the planet is definitely what I’d be looking at right now.

           The narrative then shifts to the captain as an old man, relaxing on Unzervalt (the Precursor planet from the backstory), telling the story to his grandchildren. It is clear that he married Talana shortly after the events of the game. The children demand to know what happened in the five-year period after the Ur-Quan destruction, and how their grandfather found the “Mark II.” But the captain simply says that those adventures are “an entirely different story,” clearly setting up a sequel.            

Perspective dramatically shifts in the final shots.

          As the end credits roll, the player gets little humorous vignettes of the various races. The Zoq-Fot-Pik continue to debate about Frungy; the Shofixti male has run away for some much-needed recuperation; the Utwig manage to break the Ultron again, and so on. Many of them make allusions to being featured in the sequel. The entire sequence (which you can watch here) is cute, but it also serves to emphasize that the game’s races are fundamentally silly, which more than slightly undermines the plot.           

The Druuge makes demands for Star Control III.

          So . . . I don’t know. I was hoping for more of a twist in the ending, along the lines of Starflight. I feel like the only major twist in the game was in the relationship between the Ur-Quan and their Talking Pets, and that happened in somewhat banal dialogue comparatively early.

There’s lots of external material for me to read before the final entry. I’m particularly interested in what elements of the game truly had alternate paths and which ones just seemed like it at the time. I’m also interested in any other side-quests or Easter eggs that I missed. The spoiler embargo is lifted, so please discuss liberally.

Final time: 47 hours

source http://reposts.ciathyza.com/star-control-ii-won/

#retro games #dos games #retro #crpg #adventure #amiga #oldcomputers #8bit #16bit #blog #repost

[adangerousbond]

Even Green Can Lose its Colour

Chapter Two

I have been in a writing mood recently but never for the same story! I was going to do another one-shot but thought seeing's how I had half of this written out already I should finish the chapter off. I have at least one more chapter planned for this story too, I haven't had a real sort of plan for it but we'll see how it goes!

Thank-you all for the support so far with this story! I appreciate it greatly.

Enjoy!

Read Below or at ff.net or AO3

Swallowing the liquid, she placed her hand back into the green and willed it to take her back to the other side. Feeling the now familiar pull of travelling through the green, brought a sense of hope to her, replaced by a sharp stab of fear as she felt the anger of the lady from behind her.

Falling to the ground, Dutch forced herself to open her eyes, her hands still tightly gripping the container with the spore. Relief flooded through her as she opened her eyes quickly, ripping the band aide off as sorts, and took in the rocky cave around her, without any hint of the hazy green around her.

"How did you get here?" The voice of the woman who technically was her mother broke her trance, the guards at the door watching her with interest, clearly having woken the sleeping ruler when they had entered the chamber to protect their queen from the commotion.

Dutch's glance towards the pool now only containing water answering the question, her quiet confusion telling everyone around that not only did she not quite know how her path had ended here, but also that the location was a surprise to her as well.

"Where's Aneela?" The older woman asked with compassion, it all made little sense to her, but the younger woman in front of her was the spitting image of the daughter she had loved for so long.

"She must be out, she wasn't in the green." Dutch spoke, her voice sounding as tired as she felt.

"Why is it water now?" Yalena questioned, noticing the change in the pool as she approached it cautiously.

"Because of this, we used it from the inside." Dutch stated, toying with the spore container that she had produced once again in the green and successfully brought out with her, just when she had started to learn how to control the green; she was about to destroy it for once and for all. "Now I think we need to use it from the outside too."

"Can I do the honours?" Her mother requested, the years that she had spent in anger and sorrow due to the liquid in front of her, evident in every action she did, every word she spoke; it was only fitting that she be the one to end it, after all she had kept her post to do that very thing for longer than she could even recall these days.

Dutch handed the spore to the older woman, as she watched her pour it from its prison, the air around them heavy with apprehension and relief as the water turned to black and then down to a dust as the spore mixed with it. The dust sat unassuming across the stone, the power it had once held appearing to be gone, but neither of them could be certain of that fact and neither could be sure of what damage it had already done or the damage that might be caused by ending it.

"I need to get to my people." Dutch broke the silence, turning away from the pool and pushing aside her questions, knowing that the only chance for answers would start back with her team.

"Of course, I will organise a ship to take you." Yalena agreed instantly, she might have completed her main mission for the galaxy, but she was still wanting to help her family in any way she could.

"Thank-you." Her daughter and almost grand-daughter stated politely, in some ways she reminded her so much of Aneela and in other ways she was the complete opposite.

"When you see her, can you tell her I would love a visit?" She requested, hoping that the other would accept and the next time she would be woken it would be for her other daughter.

"Of course." Dutch agreed quickly, it was the least she could do for the promise of safe passage back to her team.

She sat on the couch of the ship, the humming of the ship calming her slightly as they made their way through the planets protective shield, the fake black hole flashing back up the moment they were far away enough to miss its pull. A little while into the trip her quiet trance was broken as her pilot made his way over to her.

"You look terrible, are you sure we shouldn't stop at a planet with a doctor on the way?" A man dressed the same as the protector she had met on Utopia approached her cautiously.

"No, I need to get back home." Dutch answered assuredly, she didn't have time to worry about herself and knew that Lucy would probably be better equipped than any of the doctors along the way anyway.

"Very well, at least try to eat something." The protector instructed, placing some fruit on the table in front of her, the kindness from one of Khylen's highly trained assassins throwing her for a moment.

Thanking him, she waited until her left to try to eat a little, but the moment she swallowed, she felt like throwing it back up as it mixed with the green that she had drunk to get out, the liquid and the solid appearing not to be a fan of each other. She had taken a while to not feel sick after her last trip, but this time had been worse, she had gone in and came out a different way and she couldn't help but wonder if that made things worse for herself, not that it mattered if it meant they had finally won.

"Stop approaching or we will have to take defensive action." Turin yelled through the speaker, his annoyance almost visible through his tone, as the loud sound woke Dutch from the light sleep she had fallen into, making her way into the cockpit, surprised to see they were staring down the Amarda.

"I have a package I have been instructed to deliver. I have disengaged my weapons systems." The protector responded, his tone flat and unbothered.

"You do not have permission to dock, please turn away." Turin requested, giving them little option to do anything else, his voice echoing through the ship.

"Well give me permission." The protector calmly requested, shaking his head when she made a move to respond instead.

"Oh, because you asked so nicely, no." Her boss growled back, and she could imagine his face angry and confused at the situation at hand.

"Let me speak to him." She asked, gaining a glare in response, she understood that he had to ensure it wasn't a trap and he didn't want to let them know she was on board until he knew it was safe, but it still annoyed her.

"I just need to dock to deliver this package and I will be on my way." The man in front of her explained.

"And let me guess the package is a weapon?" Turin laughed, she knew his team- her team- would be working on trying to gain access to the ship to work out their intentions, but from the system she could see around her, she also knew that wouldn't happen any time soon.

"Let me talk to your leader." The protector tried from a different angle, his people skills clearly as lacking as Turin's.

"You already are." Turin's gruff voice fired back, his patience wearing thin.

"Well you can give me the permission to dock then." His tone making it clear that he already knew he was talking to the top of the chain and that he didn't care.

"We have been over this." The answer that came back sounding as mocking as the demand.

"Ask for a white blade." She instructed her pilot, hoping that it would interest her team enough to agree.

"I'm invoking a white blade." He stated, accepting her plan without any further questions.

"A what?" Turin asked, it was unclear to her if he actually didn't know what it was or if the request had simply thrown him.

"What did you say?" Johnny's voice piped up, making her smile at hearing her best friends voice, knowing that at least he was alive.

"I'm invoking a white blade," the protector stated, "Give me 5 minutes with you and I promise to stick to the terms of a white blade."

"Give us a minute." Johnny said, cutting the transmission off their end.

"What in the bloody hells is a white blade." Turin grumbled, turning to his team that had interrupted him, the whole situation confusing him, they hadn't had another ship even come near them in days, let alone one come up to them.

"Dutch did it once with another assassin, it's like a sit down where each side can't kill the other." D'avin explained briefly, evident that they didn't get the whole run down but had had enough to get the concept.

"And do they stick to the rules?" Turin asked, brows raised at the way the two men next to him suddenly looked sideways at each other, giving him his answer. "Exactly."

"That was different, Dutch pushed him too far, she said it's the one thing assassin's respect." Johnny reasoned, curious about what the man on the ship wanted and wanting to believe that it might be something of help to them.

"Which only proves at the very least, he's an assassin, is that really someone we should be inviting onto our ship." Turin questioned, knowing it was a valid argument, especially with everything that had been going on the last few weeks.

"Let him dock." Aneela spoke up, alerting them to her presence in the room, her statement drawing the attention from everyone in the room.

"Why?" Turin asked tiredly, quickly realising that he was getting out numbered on his wish to turn the ship away.

"He's a protector." She stated in an even tone, even though she wasn't sure that the room even knew what that was.

"He works for your mother?" Johnny questioned, drawing weird looks all round at his knowledge of the term, with even Aneela surprised.

"We have to let him dock, he could have something important to tell us, mother might have had something to do with the change in the green." She reasoned, knowing her statement would be enough to convince even Turin.

They stood in a line at the end of the docking station, awaiting the man that claimed he was no threat, watching as the man exited slowly, his white blade above his head almost mockingly as he walked towards them.

"What is your package?" Turin asked, staring the man down as he came to a stop a few metres off their location, the lack of anything with him putting them all on edge.

"I'll get it, I just had to make sure you wouldn't shoot me first." He stated, placing the blade down on the floor before heading back in.

"Is he for real?" Turin questioned after a couple minutes, his day seemed to just be getting worse and worse.

"Whatever it is, it must be important." Aneela stated calmly.

They head the two pairs of footsteps before they saw them, guns trained on them instantly, the fact that either his package was a person or he had gotten back up concerning them all even more.

"Don't shoot." The protector stated, his body turned to protect his companion and his hand raised in front of them.

"They wouldn't dare." Dutch spoke affectionately, her boys rushing to her side the moment she came in view. Her arms going around both of them, grinning for the first time in what felt like forever, as the three of them clung to each other.

"Thank-you." Johnny said to the man as he stepped away, his hand out to shake the strangers hand.

"Simply doing my job, once you all finally let me." He spoke as evenly as he had the entire showdown.

"Come on, lets get you fueled up and ready to get on your way again." Turin spoke politely, more trusting than before but still wanting the stranger off his ship.

Da'vin supported Dutch as he led her away from the small group, wanting to get her to Lucy and checked out as soon as he could, the lack of complaint from her not surprising him as he took in her fatigued and weakened state, reminding him of when she had come out of the green the first time, only this time she was at least still awake.

Directing her onto Lucy and into her room, he helped lower her onto her bed, bending down in front of her as she sat quietly.

"Are you okay?" He questioned her softly, knowing that Lucy would have started monitoring her vitals and clocking her injuries the moment they got on the ship.

"Not sure." She answered honestly, her defeated eyes meeting his.

"We thought, I thought I would never see you again." He voiced the fear he had held onto since the last time he had saw her, gripping her hands tightly between his.

"This is real, right?" She asked, a lone tear running down her cheek. The question itself at first glance could have seemed out of excitement but the terror in the back of her eyes and the quiet tone nearly broke him, she actually wasn't fully convinced.

"Yes." He stated firmly, cupping her face with his hands.

"I'm not really sure I care anymore." Her statement threw him, he was prepared for her to not believe him, to not know how to know, but the fact she had passed the point so far that she didn't push to know; that was unexpected and broke his heart to even start to think about what the lady had done to her.

"This is real, she doesn't have you anymore." He tried to convince her, thinking for a moment, he lent forward, kissing her lightly, trying to prove his point. "You've kissed me in the green and out, which one did that feel like?"

Instead of a response, she wrapped her arms around him, hiding her face in his neck. The lady had stolen nearly all of her strength, for the time being she needed to borrow some from her family, as much of it as she could get.

"How long was I in there?" she asked, drawing back, seemingly believing that it was real, or at least not caring if it wasn't.

"Nearly two weeks." He responded casually, as if he didn't know the exact amount of time she had been missing, right down to the minute, but her fear and pain outweighed his at the moment.

"Felt like longer." Her words holding more weight than she had meant, she had tried to keep track of time, but the lady hadn't let her and by the end, it had felt like eternity.

"Do you want a shower or food?" His attention turning back to her well being as Lucy interrupted with an update on her vitals.

"Shower, definitely." She stated, a small hint of a smile as she entertained the thought of a real shower.

"Do you need any help?" He asked sincerely, concerned about her ability to stand let alone shower on her own.

"I'll be fine, Lucy will be looking out for me, won't ya girl?" Dutch responded, glancing upwards to her ship.

"Of course, Dutch." Lucy's monotone voice making her feel more at home.

"Okay, we will all be in the kitchen if you need anything." He told her as he got up to go find the others.

"How is she?" Johnny and Aneela asked the moment he entered the kitchen, their concern evident.

"Pretty messed up, I'm not even sure she's convinced this is real." He explained as he poured himself a drink, needing it more than he had all week, this time though for a different reason.

"The lady would have spent every moment torturing her and time is different in the green. She could have done anything to her." Aneela stated, fear and admiration for her creation evident in her tone.

"What do we do now?" Johnny asked, thankful that one of their issues was much more manageable now, allowing them the chance to move onto the other array of problems they had, with less of a threat of their team members possible death.

"Now we go deal with the issue in Old Town." D'avin agreed, their other friends needed them now more than ever and they had been telling themselves that they were working on the issue when really they had been more focused on Dutch.

"And find Delle Seyah and the child." Aneela stated, her family's safety the only thing that she had left that she really cared about, she had been pushing to find them daily but the knowledge that they were safe had been enough to subdue her, but not that Dutch was back she had no real reason to stay.

"We'll keep trying to hold the peace from here." Turin informed the group as he walked into their impromptu meeting. "But do you have any idea what to do about Old Town?"

"As far as Lucy and I can tell, whatever they have been infected with is suppressing their memories, as well as their inhibitions. It must be some sort of neural blocker, so we should be able to work out a way to reverse its effects." Johnny started on about what he had found out from his external scans of the planet that harbored their friends.

"The lady told me it would wear off." Dutch spoke up, drawing everyone's attention as she leant against the door frame to the kitchen. Wearing one of D'avin's shirts and a pair of shorts nearly hidden under the shirts length, she looked smaller and lessen frightening than usual, especially with the myriad of bruises and cuts across her body.

"She told you about what she did to Old Town?" Johnny asked, handing her a glass of Hokk as he gave her another quick hug, grateful that his best friend was alive.

"I thought she was just trying to mess with me, but she said that the loss of memory was temporary and that they will keep their old memories and new together, I think that was where she got the enjoyment from it, the aftermath." Dutch explained to them, sitting at the table as she nursed the glass without actually drinking it.

"Did she leave out the part that it has killed some of them and we aren't certain it won't kill more?" Turin questioned with less gusto than he usually would, even he could see the toll that the green had taken on the former assassin.

"Doesn't surprise me." Dutch stated sadly, knowing full well how the Lady's plans can go. "She can be brutal."

"I think we can all agree on that." Aneela spoke quietly, her own demons from the green creeping up on her.

The room fell silent, only interrupted for a moment when Turin excused himself to go back to the main ship, allowing them to leave the dock and start on their journey towards their friends. The four of them sat around the table with various levels of Hokk as they relished in the silence.

"Are you sure you're okay?" Johnny asked, breaking the silence as he ran his eyes over his best friend, it wasn't the cuts or the exhaustion that concerned him, he had seen her much worse before, but the look of defeat in her eyes, the Lady had appeared to have come within moments of breaking her fully.

"Lucy gave me the all clear." Dutch responded quietly, diverting her eyes into the liquid in her glass.

"Is that right Luce?" Johnny directed his question towards the ship instead.

"Dutch will live but I did not give her the all clear, she has a number of injuries, is malnourished and suffering from exhaustion as well as a slight fever and headache, which could be related to her other symptoms or could be the sign of something else. I have given her a number of things to help her heal faster, however I have not cleared her yet." The ships voice echoed throughout the room, the slightest hint of concern to the words that should be impossible for an AI but there wasn't another AI quite like theirs.

"Real okay." Johnny chastised with a smirk, knowing full well that Lucy would always give him the honest truth and would have alerted them had she believed that something was actually wrong.

"What did she do to you in there?" Aneela asked almost timidly, as if she was terrified to know and having suffered at the Lady's hand herself more than anyone else in the room, she had every reason to be.

"She tried to break me." Dutch answered simply, she knew she meant well but she was far from ready to go over that again.

"What did she want?" Aneela tried a different angle, worried about what the Lady might have gotten out of her.

"I'm not sure wanted anything except payback, she was furious that we trapped her in and so she tried to take it all out on me." Dutch responded after a few moments, running a finger along a large bruise on her arm as if she was trying to determine how exactly she received it.

"You should get some rest." D'avin spoke up, putting an end to the conversation with a stern glance at Aneela and a gentle hand on Dutch's shoulder.

#killjoys #killjoys syfy #dutch x d'avin #d'avin jaqobis #johnny jaqobis #aneela kin rit #killjoys fanfiction #chapter two

[gossipnetwork-blog]

25 TV Events to Get Excited About in 2018

New Post has been published on http://gossip.network/25-tv-events-to-get-excited-about-in-2018/

25 TV Events to Get Excited About in 2018

New year, new TV to look forward to.

Now that it’s finally 2018, it’s time to cut your losses with the fall shows you’ve already grown tired and make some room on your DVRs for everything the new year has to offer because there’s a lot to get excited about.

Kicking things off on New Year’s Day with the return of Arie Luyendyk Jr. as ABC’s latest Bachleor, we’ve narrowed down the 25 TV events worth getting excited about over the next 12 months from a surprisingly deep pool of worthy candidates. Seriously, there’s a lot of promising stuff coming our way. Read on and start programming your DVR!

ABC/Craig Sjodin

Bachelor‘s Big Winter

Kudos to the Bachelor franchise for trying something new in 2018. First, they went back a few years to the pre-Instagram days to find their newest leading man, Arie Luyendyk Jr., and we’re also being treated to what appears to be an international hot tub party known as Winter Games. It all sounds like exactly the fresh Bachelor air we need, and we can’t wait to see how it all goes down, starting January 1.

Freeform

Freeform Gets Grown-ish

It’s time for Zoey Johnson to fly the coop and strike out on her own…-ish. In this Freeform spinoff of Black-ish, debuting January 3, Yara Shahidi takes center stage as the eldest Johnson child embarks on her freshman year at California University with a diverse group of friends helping her navigate her first taste of adult life. Look out for guest appearances from parents Dre and Bow as Anthony Anderson and Tracee Ellis Ross are set to make occasional guest appearances in the comedy, which hails from the mothership’s creator Kenya Barris. 

CBS

Star Trek: Discovery‘s Return

The spore drive is done for and the U.S.S. Discovery is…missing. The finale ended with Lorca (Jason Isaacs) and his team including Michael Burnham (Sonequa Martin-Green) evading death and destruction at the hands of the Klingons, only to find themselves some place very unfamiliar. Could our heroes be in the Mirror Universe? Whatever happens, beam us up for more adventures on January 7.

VH1

Tyra Returns on Top

Sorry Rita Ora, but Tyra Banks is reclaiming her America’s Next Top Model throne. Banks is returning on January 9 to host the revived series on VH1 after only serving as executive producer on Cycle 23. This year, expect new terms from Tyra and new competitors: there’s no longer an age limit.

Showtime

Showtime’s Trip to The Chi

If creator Lena Waithe‘s Emmy-winning episode of Master of None, “Thanksgiving,” is any indication, her new Showtime drama is, hands down, one of 2018’s can’t-miss debuts. The Chi, premiering January 7, is billed as a timely coming-of-age story that will explore the humanity behind the headlines sensationalizing the South Side of Chicago. Expect this to be an early Emmys frontrunner.

The CW

A New Superhero

Luke Cage may have come before him, but Black Lightning feels like the first superhero series to finally truly speak to the Black Lives Matter movement. The CW’s latest DC Comics adaptation, starring Cress Williams as the titular hero and premiering Jan. 16, feels timely in a way that few of the network’s other comic book offerings have. If nothing else, it’s just refreshing to have a CW superhero who feels like a damn adult.

FX

American Crime Story Goes Glam

People v. O.J. was great, but The Assassination of Gianni Versace brings a new level of glamour and intrigue to one of last year’s most talked about new series with one of the biggest crimes fashion has ever suffered. Darren Criss plays the serial killer we never before knew we needed him to play, and Penélope Cruz is straight-up iconic as Donatella Versace. We are so there come January 17.  

VH1

Mama Ru Gathers More All-Stars

While some of the queens returning for another chance at the crown barely fit in the label of “star,” let alone “All-Star”—Aja, anyone?—our excitement at finally having RuPaul and her glorious queens back is off the charts. RuPaul’s Drag Race All-Stars 3 returns to its new network (VH1) on January 25 to see who will join the ranks of legendary All-Stars and All-Stars 2 winners Chad Michaels and Alaska, respectively. Who are we rooting for? We’ll never tell. (OK, we’ll tell. That crown belongs to Trixie Mattel. Don’t @ us.)

Mindy Tucker/HBO

2 Dope Queens Come to HBO

What’s better than listening to your favorite podcast? Watching it come to life in a series of HBO specials, that’s what! Jessica Williams and Phoebe Robinson bring their acclaimed podcast 2 Dope Queens to the cable network beginning February 2 for four hour-long specials taped before a live audience, tackling topics like “Black Nerds aka Blerds” and “Hot Peen” alongside guests including Jon Stewart and Tituss Burgess. 

Netflix

Netflix Explores Altered Carbon

Netflix is going big with this original series, an adaptation the classic cyberpunk noir novel by Richard K. Morgan. Set more than 300 years in a future where society has been transformed by new technology, consciousness can be digitized, human bodies are interchangeable, and death is no longer permanent, the sci-fi series stars Joel Kinnaman as Takeshi Kovacs, the lone surviving soldier in a group of elite interstellar warriors who were defeated in an uprising against the new world order. Altered Carbon, dropping on the streaming site on February 2, looks expensive and confusing as hell. Count us in.

CBS

Big Brother Turns Celebrity

Already a staple in the U.K., Celebrity Big Brother is finally making its way across the pond for a special edition on CBS beginning February 7. Which of our D-list celebs will sign up to duke it out in the Big Brother house with Julie Chen narrating their every move? We haven’t the slightest idea and we can’t wait to find out.

Lifetime

UnREAL Flips the Script

Did you know that it’s been nearly 18 months since UnREAL signed off for season two? After that creative debacle, you may have pushed the provocative Lifetime series, a fictional account of the inner-workings of a Bachelor-esque reality series, out of your mind. But queens Constance Zimmer and Shiri Appleby deserve better, and it looks like the time off may have helped deliver a third series worthy of their estimable talents. After tackling their first African-American suitor in S2, they’re going the Bachelorette route this time around with Masters of Sex alum Caitlin FitzGerald assuming the role of Everlasting’s (the show within the show) new feminist “suitress.” Could Quinn and Rachel have finally met their match? Tune in on February 26 to find out. 

Good Girls Go Bad

What do you get when you take a Parks and Recreation fave (Retta), a Parenthood breakout (Mae Whitman), and a Mad Men diva (Christina Hendricks), cast them as three suburban moms tired of their lives, and have them rob a local supermarket. Why, the recipe for our most anticipated show of 2018, that’s what. Is it February 26 yet?

Netflix

A Queer Comeback

All things just keep getting better thanks to Netflix’s upcoming revival of the seminal reality series Queer Eye for the Straight Guy. Does the new Fab Five (from left to right, Bobby Berk, Karamo Brown, Antoni Porowski, Jonathan Van Ness and Tan France) have what it takes to make us forget about Carson Kressley, Ted Allen and the rest of the OGs? Come February, we’ll find out.

CBS

Round Two of The Good Fight

It’s been a long few months without Diane Lockhart (Christine Baranski) dropping an eff-bomb on our screens. The first season The Good Fight was politically charged and intriguing and the real world hasn’t gotten any less crazy, so Robert and Michelle King have a lot of fodder for new episodes, beginning March 4. Plus Audra McDonald will be a series regular this year, so our hopes of a musical episode just got all the more higher.

ABC

American Idol Returns From the Dead

Did we really want a revival of American Idol so soon after its 2016 (supposed) series finale? Not even slightly. Are we planning to tune in on March 11 to see if Katy Perry was really worth her rumored $25 million salary? You betcha. 

NBC

A New TV Musical Rises

Glee meets Friday Night Lights this spring on NBC, with Moana (Auli’i Cravalho), Ted Mosby (Josh Radnor) and Rosie Perez (Rosie Perez) in the starring roles of this Jason Katims-produced high school drama set (where else) in a working class town. This one could either be one of the year’s biggest successes or biggest flame-outs. Tune in on March 13 and judge for yourself.

ABC

Roseanne‘s Return

Revival fatigue is very real, but we for sure will not be able to look away from the return of Roseanne Barr‘s iconic comedy Roseanne, premiering March 27, for two big reasons: 1. Curiosity about how the show explains away the series finale that had Roseanne Conner revealing Dan (John Goodman) was dead and she made the entire series up as a writer and 2. Laurie Metcalf. Metcalf is one of the best actors working today. Any chance to get weekly doses of her we will take.

Hulu

Handmaid’s Trip to the Colonies

Where do you go after being the most-buzzed about new series and winning a slew of awards? That’s what we want to know, The Handmaid’s Tale! Season two, debuting sometime in April, is already well underway and details are being kept under wraps. We do know there will be more Alexis Bledel—sorry, that’s Emmy winner Alexis Bledel to you—and previously unseen parts of Gilead. “What I can tell you, and I’m not joking one bit, is it’s knocking me out where this story is going,” Ann Dowd told E! News. “I literally read the scripts and I think, ‘Oh my god.’ The ideas are genius and so unpredictable and harrowing,” she said. “Plus you see the worlds that you weren’t exposed to before: the Colonies, what that whole world is; those who make it to Canada, what happens there; the pregnancy, how that is coming along. It’s a phenomenally well-written show.”

Bravo

RHONY‘s Extra Dose of Real-World Drama

Arguably the best Real Housewives series on Bravo (go ahead and try to say another is better), Real Housewives of New York City is set to return with last year’s top-tier cast and you know there’s going to be laughs—and drama. Luann de Lesseps was arrested just before Christmas and charged with battery of an officer, disorderly intoxication, resisting arrested with violence and crimes against another person. She’s now in a treatment center. Bravo’s cameras are just itching to start recording and we cannot wait to see what they capture.

John P. Johnson/HBO

A Return Trip to Westworld

Season one felt like nothing more than a prelude, an introductory course to this world where nothing is as it seems and everyone watching wised up to the twists down the road much sooner than anyone writing expected. But now that the robots have taken over, making the demented amusement park at the center of this HBO sci-fi/western pastiche a true free-for-all, we can’t wait to see what happens next when Westworld finally returns this spring.But it better involve Maeve (Thandie Newton) kicking some ass.

FX

Atlanta, at Long Last

One of 2016’s most surreal and delightful new shows, Atlanta feels like it’s been gone forever. Apparently creator and star Donald Glover was too busy being very famous and employable to give us more in 2017, so we’ll take whatever he can give us in 2018. 

Netflix

Robin Wright’s House of Cards Reign

Robin Wright has always been the best thing about House of Cards and now she gets to truly own the show for its sixth and final season. After allegations of sexual misconduct by Kevin Spacey came to light, the status of the Netflix series was in question. After deliberation, Netflix and Media Rights Capital said the show must go on¬—without Spacey. Wright’s Claire Underwood ended season five in power, now we get to see her wield it triumphantly.

The CW

Sabrina Gets Spooky

Inspired by the success of Riverdale‘s dark take on Archie Comics, WB and Netflix are teaming up to create the show of our teenage dreams. The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina (you know, the teenage witch) is already our favorite thing to binge and we know absolutely nothing about it yet. Even if we only get a cast in 2018, we are here for it. 

Sipa

Feud Goes Royal

After Feud‘s spot-on casting for Bette and Joan, we can’t wait to see who Ryan Murphy lands in the lead roles for the anthology’s upcoming second installment, Charles and Diana. We have our thoughts on who will fill the royal shoes of Prince Charles and Princess Diana, among others, but we’re sure that Murphy will still manage to surprise us. 

Which TV event are you most excited about for 2018? Sound off in the comments below!

(E!, Bravo and NBC are all part of the NBCUniversal family.)

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