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sparklingchan · 3 years

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Chapter 3|| Stormbringer- Stray Kids Demigod AU

Pairing : Reader(fem.) X Felix

Word count : 3.3k+

Warnings : A fight scene but it’s just practice XD

Genre : Romance, Demigod AU, fluff, angst.

Description: An unexpected incident brings you closer to Felix, but there’s one person who’s not very excited about this blossoming friendship.

A/N : Things start getting interesting from here *insert the moon face emoji* Enjoy!

SERIES MASTERLIST || Click here for introduction to the story and glossary and here for the Stray Kids demigod diaries!

"A near miss, y/n." Felix whispers in his deep, raspy voice sending shivers through your entire body.

You blink awkwardly at him for a few seconds before he gets off of you and offers you his hand to help you stand up.

You hear the Aphrodite girls whispering behind you, giggling.

"I'm sorry, I wasn't paying attention." Your eyes are looking everywhere but at Felix, the heat from your cheeks making your whole face warm.

"It's alright, " he chuckles, "Are you hurt anywhere?" His freckles look even more gorgeous up close, his toothy smiles reminds you of bright skies and beaches and picnics and fresh fruits. And when the warm afternoon sunlight falls on his eyes, his brown orbs turn into a gentler shade of golden. Breathtaking.

"You're beautiful." You blurt out, involuntarily, loud and clear so everyone hears you. A loud chorus of gasps run throughout the dining hall.

And you decide to run away back to your cabin with the little dignity you had left of yourself.

And there you are, once again thinking back to yesterday's events while polishing your precious arrow heads as you sit on the Zeus cabin's verandah.

You sigh, "It was the Aphrodite effect, right? It has to be!"

You've been pep talking to yourself all morning long, making up excuses for the way you behaved yesterday. You're too embarrassed to face your friends or the other people at camp.

"I mean he is good looking, but why did I say it out loud. Does he have powers? Like that of Hyunjin? Maybe he can charmspeak. Yes! That's probably it!" You mutter to yourself.

(a/n: Charmspeak is a rare type of hypnotic ability that Aphrodite kids possess)

Or perhaps he'd induced a new sense of adoration in you, like how Aphrodite kids usually can. But then again, they cannot actually induce these feelings. They can only manipulate them which means they'd have to exist in the first place.

You put the arrow back into it's case.

"Ugh!" You let out a loud groan, covering your face with your palms.

The image that you'd spent years to portray in front of everyone is all destroyed in the blink of an eye. Now no one's going to respect you as an only child of the Big Three, they're going to see you as a girl who gets smitten easily and not as the headstrong person you always acted like.

All because of that Lee Felix!

(a/n: big three refers to the three major Greek gods namely Poseidon, Zeus and Hades)

You stand up from the floor, not being able to handle the bombardment of thoughts in your mind, and decide that practicing sword fighting is the right thing to now.

So you find yourself making your way from behind the Athena cabin (where you can clearly hear Seungmin and another Athena kid debating over mortal politics) and then through the Jasmine fields that Apollo personally tends to and down the hill to the weapon practice arena.

"Hey, y/n."

Oh no, no no no.

Why is it that when you are trying to avoid a person that exact person is the one who keeps popping up everywhere? Why is it, you tell me, that Lee Felix happens to be in the practice arena just when you arrive there?

The Gods must be having a nice laughter up there, especially your father Zeus.

"H-hey!" You try to reply with fake enthusiasm.

He has his bronze sword in his right hand while he jogs up to you, his messy blonde hair shining like the sun.

"Did you sleep well?"

No, you hadn't.

"Yes, I did." You laugh awkwardly, "Slept wonderfully."

Felix laughs back, eyes hooded with a hint of shyness that hadn't existed till yesterday afternoon.

He tucks his bottom lip in between his teeth, "Hey, um about what you said yesterday-"

"Do you wanna duel with me?"

If you cannot escape him, you might as well divert his attention.

He looks at you like you'd just punched him in the face. His smile threatening to disappear any moment.

And that’s when you realise asking him to duel with you might not have been the brightest ideas, and not to mention how you'd called him beautiful in front a hundred other demigods last afternoon.

"I'd love to!" He replies, with an excited voice, "Swords?"

You open your mouth to reply, but only air slips out so you subtly nod. He doesn't have to know you're a nervous mess that's lowkey about to pass out.

You walk up to the armory and grab the first sword that you lay eyes on. Truth be told, a sword wasn't really the best choice of weapon for you. It's always been a bow and arrow for you. Bows make you feel at control, like you know what you're doing and you'd always been good at archery, without even trying to.

"Do you not have a sword of your own?" Felix asks almost as if reading your mind.

"No, I don't. Actually I'm more of an archer." You admit.

"Ah, of course. I remember how you killed that Cetus in a single shot. I must say, I was very impressed."

Your cheeks heat up at his compliment. It's not like people haven't complimented your archery skills before - they have, in fact they do it all the time yet you wonder why is it so much more meaningful to you when coming from Felix. Has your biggest fear finally come true?

You shake your head mentally, no, it cannot be.

"Thanks. You're not very bad with your sword either."

Felix acknowledges your compliment with a smile. He then stands up straight, the sword in his right and bows gently, a silly smile playing at his lips.

"Oh we're following the courtesies?" You whisper to yourself, copying his actions.

The both of you stand facing each other, a silent understanding flowing between the two of you while you take your dueling positions.

You expect him to attack first but he doesn't; instead he watches you with a smirk, as if trying to make you flustered.

(It was working but you'd rather never say that out loud)

So he attacks first. He aims his sword near your abdomen but you quickly jump to defend yourself, blocking his attack with your sword. The metallic clang of your swords ringing throughout the otherwise quiet arena. He stumbles back, a surprised gasp leaving his lips as your sword brushes swiftly past his neck while he's still catching his breath, barely touching him though.

Of course, hurting the opponent isn’t the aim here. Disarming them is.

"She's not bad with the sword." He thinks to himself, a little proud.

He then retorts back, swinging his sword right in front of your face, missing by merely an inch.

Your heart does a backflip, both out of excitement and fear.

You don't waste a second, gaining back your balance, thrusting your sword in the space between his arm and abdomen. Your sword clash together as you try to push his sword back with yours, yet this time he resists, putting in all his energy to make you loose your grip on the sword.

And it seems to have worked because the next moment, he sees you losing your strength, your face scrunched in concentration as you let out a few grunts. He takes a single step towards you while applying more force on your sword with his, and there goes your sword, falling onto the ground gracefully, like a martyred soldier.

"Do you accept defeat, miss y/n?" Felix teases through laboured breaths and you only have enough energy to roll your eyes at him, hitting his arm in response.

Felix passes you back your sword, as he walks over to the bench and slumps down.

Your body is too tired to worry about Felix bringing up yesterday's incident, so you follow him and sit by his side. Neither of you say anything, your fanning breaths and thumping hearts and the buzzing of insects are the only sounds in the arena. You'd never experienced this kind of peacefulness in the camp before, at least not unless you were by yourself.

When you recover from your momentary exhaustion, you look over at Felix and softly begin, "I was wondering..."

He glances at you with a smile.

Does he ever stop smiling?

"I was wondering...since Hyunjin already told you about the game, would you like to be my partner for the capture the flag game next week? I usually go with Minho but he's a referee this time." You say.

He is taken aback for a second - mostly because he'd never thought someone as cool as you would ask him to be your partner. Team games are very important in camps and its important to make sure that the teammates do not turn out to be poor players. It somehow makes Felix very happy that you'd have such faith in him despite having known him for only two days.

He nods, "I'd be honored to do that."

Your heart beats furiously as you suck in a deep breath, "It's a deal then."

Gosh y/n, what has gotten into you!

You decide to take the longer route back.

Felix left early after finishing the duel so you spent the next hour practicing Archery alone before deciding to head back to your cabin.

Your thoughts are all over the place as it is, but the quietness of the woods help you to sort things out with yourself. You feel rather uncomfortable, experiencing emotions that you'd not felt in a long time, past insecurities and memories fighting their way back from the dungeons you'd locked them up in. This was ridiculous, wasn't it? How Felix comes out of nowhere and just flips everything up?

The sun rays fall on you from the gaps between the tree branches and as you listen to the birds chirp around you, you start to slowly hum to their tune.

"Wow, who hurt you, y/n?" A male voice calls you from behind, the sound of leaves getting crushed under a pair of hooves indicate the approaching entity.

"No one hurt me, Eden."

Eden is still as handsome as ever, you wonder to yourself everytime you return to the camp, with a sturdy upper body and beautiful grey eyes and two strong goat limbs instead of normal human legs, yet he's so much more alluring than any satyr you'd ever seen. (Then again, maybe you're just biased because he’s also your childhood friend) He flashes you a handsome smile and you immediately pray to the gods that he doesn't see you blush.

(a/n: Satyrs, also known as Fauns by Romans, are creatures with the upper body of a man and the lower body of a goat as well as goat horns, and the pointed ears of a goat. )

"What's up." He stands in front of you and kisses you softly on the head, "I had gone out yesterday so I couldn't come see you. Hope you didn't miss me too much."

You hit his chest, "You're so full of yourself, goat-boy." You continue walking back towards your cabin, Eden following right behind.

"Woahh. Using Minho's nicknames now, are we?" He snickers, "One of the kids told me that you had a little hormonal outburst last afternoon?"

An embarrassed sigh leaves you lips. The camp kids really couldn't miss out on one day of gossip now could they?

"I don't wanna talk about it." You mutter as yesterday's events flash into your mind. Felix, his face, his voice and your words. Oh God.

"Hey, no judgment here, okay? If you like the new Aphrodite boy then I support you. Do you want me to play wingman?"

You turn around and smack his chest once again. "I do not like him." Yet.

"Okay, okay. I get it." His tone falls serious, "Anyway I heard about Poseidon's trident. It scared me, I won't lie. Something as powerful as that trident has never been forged in a millennia. And I can only imagine how powerful one has to be steal it. Are you sure only nine demigods are enough to find it?"

"It has to be, Eden." You say, "We don't have too many options. It's either this or we all drown and die or get killed by a monster. I'd like to choose the former."

Eden nods at your words, patting your head encouragingly.

You are about to speak up again when your eyes fall on a woman sitting on a log of wood just a few meters ahead of you.

"Is that one of the Aphrodite girls?" You whisper to Eden, only for him to shake his head in response.

The woman sits with her back facing you, a beautiful white dress adorning her small skinny frame and her brown hair tied in a tidy floral braid. Either the woman is a daughter of Aphrodite's or a Nymph, you conclude.

Without thinking much, you approach her, "Um, hello? May I know who you are?"

A startled gasp escapes your mouth when the woman turns around and looks at you with a very familiar smile playing at her lips - you'd grown up seeing that smile on Hyunjin and very recently on Felix. It's the very same smile, a Xerox copy of it.

"Aphrodite?" You mutter and she nods in response.

"Hello, y/n. Mind if I have a word with you?"

"So you were out with y/n? Dueling?" Changbin asks for the umpteenth time this morning, his usually playful eyes now focused seriously on Felix's body language.

"Yes, Changbin," Felix groans, lying flat on his fluffy bed, "Can you stop making a big deal out of it?"

Chan chuckles at the conversation, his eyes though focused on the book in front of him but his ears are on his two best friends' conversation. Chan knew Changbin wasn't the kind to trust people easily, especially Zeus' children so it's not surprising of him to be suspicious about you but what does come as a surprise to Chan is how oddly giggly Felix has been since last afternoon. After that awkward encounter with you. Could it be that Felix..?

"Do you like Zeus' daughter?" Changbin asks even before Chan can finish his line of thought.

Felix's eyes widen, but the tips of his ears are bright red, "Dude I just met her. Can you not act like a love guru out of the blue?"

"Hey, you're the love expert here. Literally. So, I should be expecting a better answer from you, no?"

"No, I do not like her. Okay?" Felix groans, "But she did ask me to be her partner for the game next week and I'm telling you beforehand Seo Changbin, do not say or assume anything that would make her uncomfortable. "

The warning comes off as rather cute to Chan since he’s always seen the Aphrodite kid as his little brother while Changbin finds his words a tad bit alarming. A Zeus kid is not to be trusted this easily.

"Fine." Changbin mutters, his lips pressing into a thoughtful line, "But just be careful because I - "

"Don't trust the Children of Zeus easily, yeah we know. Come on, Bin. Let him have some fun and make new friends. You should do it, too. We're not on our own anymore." Chan pipes in to save Felix this time and Felix secretly sends a thankful wink to him in return.

"Okay, okay." Changbin gives in.

The door to Felix's room creaks ever so slightly and the three of them turn their heads in anticipation of who it might be.

"Hey. Sorry to disturb you guys but we're being called for dinner." Hyunjin says, still getting used to having three new demigods around in the camp.

Chan closes his book, "Oh, come on, Hyunjin. You're not disturbing us. Come on in."

Felix gets up to greet his half brother with a fist bump and when he stands beside Hyunjin, the two older guys find it hilarious how terribly small he looks. Almost like Hyunjin were his father.

Felix almost as if reads their minds and narrows their eyes at them, "Dinner is ready guys. Can we move?"

"Shortie." Hyunjn whispers incoherently and makes a run towards the door.

"Hey, come back here you piece of -" Felix dashes right after him.

Changbin and Chan chuckle at their tactics, a foreign feeling of calmness settling between them. "This feels like home, Chan. We're finally home." Changbin admits, almost emotionally.

"Yes, Bin." Chan adds, "And I hope we never have to leave again."

"Aphrodite said what now?"

You sigh, running your index finger mindlessly along the lines of the wooden dinner table.

"She wants us to take the new demigods with us to find Poseidon's trident. Especially Felix." You look at your friends, "And she asked me to specifically visit the island of Sicily when we go on the quest. I asked her why but she said she doesn't know it herself."

Hyunjin grunts, almost irritated, "Y/n, I don't know how much you can trust my mother. She's known to cause drama for her own entertainment. "

Well, you do agree with what Hyunjin says but you cannot deny that Aphrodite didn't seem like she was purposely creating drama this time.

"Listen, y/n, you have to go to The island of Sicily. It will lead you to the trident, trust me." She whispers as if she is afraid of someone overhearing your conversation, "Take Felix with you. You'll need him. He'll need you."

You shudder at the memory of her unusually spooky tone.

"What do you think, dad?" Jisung turns to Apollo who has ever so naturally claimed a spot at your usual dinner table tonight, "Do you think we should let new demigods on a quest?"

"I don't think Aphrodite is playing this time. We should listen to her." He taps his finger against his chin, deep in thought, "We need as many people as we can get."

"Well, yeah. That makes sense." Minho says and you nod, "Yeah, Eden can talk to the three boys. He's always been good at all that."

The lack of protests from your friends indicate their approval and after talking about the quest for a few more minutes, Apollo leaves your table.

"So," Jisung chimes in as soon as his father is out of sight, "Our Y/n has been dueling with Lee Felix?"

You let out an exasperated growl, "Oh God, Jisung! It was just today!"

Jisung snickers and sticks out his tongue, rendering your words useless. Minho raises an eyebrow at your banter while the other boys giggle, "Eden tells me you are already smitten."

Eden! God, that Eden, you mentally vow to punch that smirk off of Eden's face the next time you see him. Why does he keep pushing ridiculous ideas into other people's head!

"I'm not smitten -"

"Who are you talking about?"

Your blood runs dry.

Please tell me Felix didn't just overhear this one conversation which includes me having a crush on him.

"Hey, Lix." Hyunjin laughs, "Took you three long enough to get here I went to your room like an hour ago."

Felix rubs the back of his neck, guilty, "Changbin spilled water on my favorite sweatshirt. "

A short guy - probably Changbin - slaps Felix's back. "Ouch!"

"Liar!" Felix rolls his eyes, turning to speak with you, "Anyway, y/n, I'm assuming you're the only to not have met my brothers yet."

"Yeah, i think so." You reply with a small smile.

Felix pats the back of the two boys on his right and left respectively. "Chan, Changbin, meet y/n, she's Zeus' daughter and y/n, meet Chan, he's Poseidon's son and Changbin - Ares' son."

Oh wow that is a new combination.

The guy introduced as Chan has a kind smile and messy brown hair while the Changbin dude has jet black hair and very intimidating eyes. He looks up and down your form, as if checking whether you were worth being Felix's friend - vibe checking, if you may.

"Hi, I'm y/n."

With the introductions done and dinner served, your group of old and new friends enjoy this peaceful evening together. The loud laughs and sassy remarks and friendly banters make you feel somewhat calm, but a part of you knows this isn't for long.

It’s like the calm before the storm.

"So, are we meeting for practice tomorrow too?" Felix whispers into your ears when he finds the others too indulged in conversation.

Your heart picks up its pace but you manage to nod with pink cheeks, "Yes. Same time as today."

A few seats away from you, Changbin overhears your conversation and decides that he doesn't really like you.

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script-nef · 4 years

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Fluff alphabets | Oikawa Tooru

Others: Hinata, Kageyama, Tsukishima

Category: fluff

Affection: How affectionate is he? How does he show affection?

Oikawa is comparable to an overgrown puppy when it comes to you.

He leaves messages and notes on how much he loves and appreciates you every day.

He wakes up early every day for his morning run, leaving you to sleep away in the bed. By the time he comes back, you’ve gone off to work.

So before he goes out, he packs a lunch with a little post-it which says things like “I hope everything works out great today” or “Don’t forget I love you!” which brightens up your day.

Baby: Does he want to start a family?

He’d want to wait a bit even if he did. Oikawa is realistic about his work and yours, the amount of time and effort needed to raise a child along with the financial implications.

He would want to be there for his kids, but is also unwilling to leave his career. So he would try to find a middle ground with you and try to juggle a half-half home and work life because he believes both parents need to share responsibilities equally.

Cuddles: Does he like cuddling? How often does he like hugging?

Every time he sees you, his automatic and reflexive action is a hug.

You could be covered in mud, wearing a truckload of fragrance (a specific one he doesn’t like), sleeping on the sofa, cooking dinner; his body just moves before he realises it.

It makes him feel safe and loved, even if he’s the one caging you in his arms.

Date: What is a typical date?

Because he’s so popular and everyone can notice him when you guys go out, he prefers indoor dates or isolated camping. Just so that you can be together with no one to bother and ask for autographs.

Either just doing simple things like finishing puzzles or making new recipes, anything he can do with you is fine.

During camps, he loves making campfires and roasting marshmallows. You told him about s’mores and now that has become a necessity for him.

Experience: How much has he dated before? How does that reflect in this one?

He’s gone out with plenty of people before, but only because they were part of his fan group and confessed first. He’s the one who confessed out of the two of you, and he was blushing so much while asking you out.

Still, he picked up a few tricks and experiences to help with his boyfriend skills for you. He never forgets anniversaries, always asks for your opinion first, remains attentive and spends a lot of time with you.

A girl once broke up with him because he was spending too much time with volleyball, but he vows to never let that happen with you.

Fight: Do you fight often with him? How does it usually end?

The problem is that he’s hot-headed sometimes and does not understand the meaning of limits. Arguments happen often but they end relatively well, when you both calm down and talk about your problems.

You both know that fights are necessary to help the relationship grow and understand each other but it doesn’t make it any easier. Feelings get hurt and you spend time apart, but in the end, it gets mended over late-night talks.

Gentle: How does he treat you?

Like you’re the ruler of the world and he’s just a humble servant. He’s literally willing to do anything (except illegal deeds) for you. This boy is whipped.

If you ask for anything, he’ll find a way to get it for you. Unless it takes an exorbitant amount of money. He constantly buys you clothes, cakes, games, everything.

He makes sure you know you’re loved by him and will take every chance he gets to show it to you.

Hand: Does he like holding your hand? How often?

Hand-holding is like a greeting for him. Just like with hugs, this boy cannot get enough physical contact when it comes to you.

His finger laces with yours firmly as if to say “I’m here right now” and he hopes it fills you with assurance and love as it does for him.

Impression: What was your first impression of him?

A popular ikemen with a never-ending smile who gets hit a lot by this other dude.

Oikawa is famous in Seijou and everywhere else, so it wasn’t hard to get an initial impression from all of his fans’ squealing and gushing. Apparently, he’s this perfect prince who’s as pretty as hell and an amazing volleyball player.

His first impression of you was a kind and different seatmate. You had the (mis)fortune of getting placed next to him which garnered a lot of envy from his fans. He liked you since you weren’t squealing and obsessing over him like the others.

Jealousy: Does he get jealous easily? What sets him off?

Gets jealous really easily but tries to play it off. Like “Ah, [Name]-chan, are you confessing your love for other people when your one and only boyfriend is right here? I feel so neglected!” or other whiny comments.

Subtly latches onto you during and after matches, smiling threateningly at the other boys.

“Tooru, knock it off. You have no reason to be jealous. I don’t like them.”

“I know, but they like you. I can see it in their eyes.”

“Really? How?”

“They’re looking at you like I used to when I started falling for you.”

Kiss: Is he good at kissing? When does he kiss you?

Thousands of pecks or light kisses every day and hundreds of deep ones in private. Oikawa kisses you so damn much that it feels like he has a disease which will kill him if he doesn’t kiss you at least once every hour or so.

His favourites are forehead kisses and neck bites. He nibbles on your skin which makes you shriek and hit him repeatedly, but he absolutely loves it.

Love: Who said “I love you” first? And when does he say it?

He said it first while trying to cheer you up. He’s noticed how you were feeling a bit down lately and tentatively asked if anything was wrong.

Then you mumbled about all his fans and if you were enough for him, which just completely shattered his heart. So he rattled off all the things he admired and cherished about you, like how you’re always so dedicated or caring.

He pressed kisses to your hand and whispered “You know I love you, right?” and squeezed you half to death when you said “Me too.”

Memory: What’s his favourite memory with you?

The moment you cried during an argument. This gets a lot of weird looks from people, which once included you, and they ask “Are you, by any chance, a sadist?” or something along those lines. But he isn’t.

Oikawa loves that moment because it proves to him you’re willing to be truthful and vulnerable to him, something he struggled to do in front of you. It showed him you care about this relationship and that you’re invested in it.

There’s plenty of other memories with you he treasures, but this one always warms his heart. (He doesn’t like seeing you cry though.)

Nickname: Does he give you a nickname? Do you have one for him?

He gives you a whole lot of really, really cheesy ones. Like “if you call me this in front of people I know outside, I’ll die from embarrassment” level ones.

Examples include: my everything, cream puff, the radiant sun, sugar bear etc. Overly sweet ones. He likes how you blush and squirm away when he calls you these.

Everyone looks at him like “what the hell, dude” but he doesn’t give a damn.

Open: How open is he about his feelings?

Oikawa doesn’t hesitate to tell you about his moods and feelings. He once hid them from you, thinking he needs to be stronger than that, but you lectured him for about an hour about it. Now he tells you everything he feels.

Says if he’s sad, lonely, happy, excited, everything. You share all of your feelings with him as well and it makes it feel like you’re closer together now.

PDA: Is he fine with PDA? How far can he go?

He’s casual and comfortable with PDA, but it gets more intense when you’re with his friends. Like the third year gang from Seijou.

He doesn’t really get it either, but seeing you interact with his friends makes a bubble in his chest which feels like it’s going to explode at any moment. He gives you plenty of kisses and hugs, gaining boos from all his friends. He just sticks his tongue out at them, saying “I‘m dating someone and you guys aren’t!”

Quirk: Habits or something he does which is unexpected?

He likes stargazing. It stems from his love/obsession of aliens, which continues to this day, but he realised how expansive and beautiful space is. He becomes quiet every time he gazes up to the night sky, his thoughts just drifting away.

Some of the constellations have fun myths behind them which he enjoys as well. He sometimes recites it for you as a nighttime story, to help you fall asleep.

You bought him a projector once as a present. It now illuminates your bedroom every night.

Relax: What activities do you do with him to relax?

Going to a spa together, getting facials and massages. Oikawa cares a lot about his beauty and the state of his muscles, so a spa is one of his favourite places in the world.

He would talk to you for the entire massage, saying random and stupid things which makes you laugh and move around a lot. You have to apologise to the masseurs all the time, even though they’ve become used to it.

Support: How supportive is he of your dreams? What do you do for him?

Oikawa constantly reassures and cheers for you as you do for him. He gives you tips and hacks on solving certain problems or brings you your favourite food to bring your mood up.

He has unwavering faith in your words and pushes you to finish the assignments to the best of your abilities. If you’re getting burnt out, then he just takes you off the laptop and makes you sleep.

For him, he loves seeing your face in the bleachers, calling out and screaming for him. It fills him with extra energy which helps him nail a service ace.

Talk: What does he like talking about?

What it would be like if you stayed with him forever. He loves imagining a future with you, from a year to a decade to the moment he dies.

“My best traits are my sappiness and my love for you, [Name]-chan!”

He sees older couples doing little activities together and takes photos and sends them to you with “Maybe we can do that!”

Umbrella: What’s his favourite weather/season?

A day with a clear sky, not a single cloud to be seen anywhere. But the sun isn’t too hot either, just the right temperature. The breeze will be light, cooling him down to a perfect temperature.

He’ll lay with you in the back porch, just staring up to the sky in silence. His hand will be linked to yours and eventually fall into an afternoon nap. It’ll be nighttime when he wakes up but you’ll still be sleeping. Then he carries you inside to the bed and starts cooking dinner.

Vaunt: Does he like showing you off?

So much. So, so much. Once Oikawa starts talking about how amazing you are, he’s not going to shut up for another half an hour or so. The record, timed by you, was 47 minutes and 23 seconds.

The other person will literally start walking away and he won’t notice.

After his long and emotional speech with no audience, his expression will turn into that pea-eyed face (☉_☉) and he’d be like “where’d they go?”

World: Where does he take you for vacation?

A new place for both of you, a country where anything and everything can happen. On the rare occasions he gets a long time off, he makes sure to create new memories for you.

He even bought one of those scratch-off maps to record all the places you visited with him. Most of South America is done and he hopes to finish the U.S. soon.

He loves meeting new people or learning new customs and knows you love them as well. He especially loves how your eyes light up when you see amazing landscapes and beautiful festivals.

X-ray: What happens when you’re injured or sick?

If it’s a simple cold, then he tries to cheer you up by being bright and happy while taking care of you. Feeding you plenty of food and water, bringing you medicine, watching TV shows together, a perfect experience.

If you’re hospitalised, then he’s instantly crushed and cannot function. He spends every single second he can next to your bed and holds your hand, pressing kisses onto it.

Waterworks starts the moment you wake up and he becomes a leech, pressing himself to your body and refusing to let go.

Yearn: How much does he miss/pine for you when apart?

He texts you every chance he gets, updating you on the most mundane and little things in his life. It’s because he knows you enjoy them, learning about his life away from you and all the new people he met.

He once received a little plushie version of you from his fans, modelled after one of his photos with you on social media, and he sleeps with it every day. Every night before he goes to sleep, he sends you a selfie with something like “:( Nothing beats the original though <3”.

ZZZ: Does he have sleeping habits?He’d want to wait a bit even if he did.

Covers you with his body regardless of the season and hugs you so tightly against him that it feels like you’re in the grasps of an octopus. It’s great in winter but really annoying in summer, especially if it’s a humid day and you’re both sweating.

Even if you try to push him off, his iron grip on you doesn’t relax and somehow even tightens. After weeks of that, you basically just gave up and invested in better air conditioning.

#oikawa x reader #oikawa imagine #oikawa tooru x reader #oikawa tooru imagine #haikyuu x reader #haikyuu!! x reader #haikyuu imagine #haikyuu!! imagine #haikyuu headcanons #haikyuu!! headcanons #haikyuu #haikyuu!!#oikawa #oikawa tooru #fluff #alphabets #gender neutral reader

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beautiesandheadcanons · 4 years

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For this week’s gaming corner, I kinda wanted to put on my tinfoil hat and talk about a potential conspiracy that a writing friend and I stumbled over the other day when talking about Sten and his reasons for being in Ferelden during the Fifth Blight. (Warning: spoilers for Dragon Age: Origins and Inquisition ahead).

The reason that Sten gives The Warden is that the Qun wanted information on the Blight, but … how much sense does this really make? For one, Sten is very much Qun-loyal, so how much information would he really be willing to share with The Warden? And he tells them this before his loyalty mission and before The Warden gains any kind of rapport with him, so the fact that he would just be upfront and honest about what concerns the Qunari have seems a little … off. I think perhaps he just used the Blight as an easy excuse and since everything was a bit chaotic, the excuse was accepted and his reasons for being there written off because hey, he was helping, and The Warden needed every ally they could get.

But the even bigger question is the timing. For one, how would the Qunari even know that the Blight was happening? Keep in mind, the only person in Origins who even thought it was an actual Blight and not just an incursion of Darkspawn was Duncan, the Grey Warden. King Cailan *hoped* it was a Blight, but wasn’t convinced, Loghain and Arl Howe didn’t believe it, and Arl Cousland seemed indifferent and unknowing either way. Even after the Battle, Loghain and Howe still didn’t believe it a true Blight. So while there’s no doubt the Qunari likely had spies in Ferelden, what exactly could they have even sent back? Darkspawn incursions aren’t exactly rare or out of the question, and it seems highly illogical to send a whole unit to investigate the mere possibility of a Blight, so that begs the question … what would have made the Qunari send Sten and his Beresaad? If they weren’t sent because of a Blight, then why?

Before I go on to speculate, I want to also address a logistics issue, and that is the fact that it is impossible for Sten and his Beresaad to have arrived in the area surrounding Lothering just before The Warden arrives there post-Ostagar. Backing up just a tad, during the prologue of Dragon Age 2, it’s mentioned that Hawke and family took a ship from Gwaren to Kirkwall and that the journey took two weeks. As you can see from the included maps, while there is a fairly significant distance between Gwaren and Kirkwall, it seems dwarfed when compared between Gwaren and Par Vollen, the Qunari homeland. So even *if* the Qunari became concerned about a large Darkspawn incursion – the likes of which were only witnessed at Ostagar – it’s simply impossible for a message to be sent from Ferelden to Par Vollen, a team to be put together and equipped, and then sent to Ferelden in order to make it to the area around Lothering before The Warden makes it from Flemeth’s hut to the same village.

Of course, Sten’s explanation for what happened to him doesn’t even hold up very well. He told The Warden that he and his company were attacked by a group of Darkspawn and that he was knocked unconscious and later woke up to find his sword missing and subsequently attacked a nearby farmer and his family in a rage, which is what led to him being locked in a cage outside Lothering. Except … that makes no sense. The Darkspawn just so happen to slay the entirety of his company and just … knock him out? And leave him? Its well established in canon that if Darkspawn don’t kill someone, they take them for eating and/or breeding. And if they don’t take the bodies, they typically defile them, similarly to how they strung up King Cailan’s body at Ostagar. So the fact that they would have left one unconscious Qunari behind just seems insurmountably illogical. Darkspawn are not overly intelligent, which is why they require the guidance of an Archdemon in order to properly rally to even attempt to take over Thedas. They operate more or less on certain instincts, and instinct should have dictated that if they couldn’t take Sten’s body for some reason, they would have defiled his body and left it behind as a sign and a warning. That’s not even taking into account that somebody apparently just happened to go through this area right after this huge Darkspawn attack (Beresaad are not easy opponents) and somehow found Sten’s sword … AND the fact that the last place Sten remembers even having his sword is the docks around Lake Calenhad, an area that Darkspawn were not plenteous in (IF such a sufficient force was even able to make it that far to engage a Beresaad with, which *doubt*).

Which brings me to the original point of this post: Sten wasn’t in Ferelden for the Blight. He was there as a preamble to a Qunari invasion.

Qunari invasions aren’t unheard of, they had attempted an incursion several hundred years before (and in some spots, still had a lingering influence as of the events of the current games). And, of course, players get to see another attempt to overthrow leaders in an attempt to create chaos that would preempt their action to take over in the Inquisition DLC Trespasser. But what if that wasn’t their first attempt? What if they had attempted before?

Sten is particularly interesting, having been noted by an Antivan Crow to be curious, a trait that is extremely rare for a Qunari. He questioned people coming and going at the docks on Seheron for three years in order to learn the common tongue. Later on, during a large Qunari assault in Tevinter, he was present and noted to not only know the common tongue but also Tevene, again another rare trait for a Qunari (and would be even rarer outside the Ben-Hassrath, the organisation of Qunari spies). It should be noted that after the failure of this particular assault, Sten was later overheard *arguing* - ARGUING - with the Arishok, something that shook the Tevinter spy to the core because Qunari just simply did not argue. Sten’s reason for arguing against someone as important and high-ranking as the Arishok himself, the leader of the Qunari military? Because after the failure of the recent Qunari incursion he’d been a part of, he was convinced that it would be impossible to take over southern Thedas by force, that they needed a more subtle touch … one similar to what we get to see in Trespasser. It’s said, of course, that his reasoning and ideas are why the Arishok sends him and his team to Ferelden to investigate the Blight, but … what if he sends them for another reason? What if he understood and came to agree with Sten and later appointed him to take charge of a small force to infiltrate southern Thedas and take advantage of the recent Darkspawn incursions to ensure the death of King Cailan and anyone else of importance to throw the relatively young nation into chaos. Their company couldn’t have been attacked by Darkspawn … perhaps instead they were somehow intercepted by a company of the king’s men, and while they were successful in wiping out the rest of the Beresaad, they themselves fell to Sten who was left standing. And after he took care of the rest of the bodies, he was discovered by an innocent farmer and his family, who Sten *had* to kill in order to cover up what he’d done … and afterwards, realising that he was stuck in a strange land all alone with no back up and no way to complete his mission, turned himself in for the murder of the farmer and his family and waited for the end … (which, depending on the actions of The Warden, may not have come at all).

Again, we can clearly see how the Qunari have started to plan their invasion by the time the Trespasser DLC occurs (2 years after the events of Inquisition, 12 years after Origins, 8 years after Sten becomes the new Arishok). Instead of brute force, they’re resorting to utilising their spy networks and operating far more quietly and in the shadows than they have in the past. Of course, they’re still caught by the Inquisitor and brought to task, but it’s a far different approach than what they’ve done previously. And while the Qunari disavow any knowledge of the Viddasala and her actions, that seems particularly out of character for the Qunari who typically move as one, as a single unit in thought and purpose, for whom rebellion is out of the question. It seems almost strange that a high-ranking Ben-Hassrath would just turn on the wishes of the rest of the Qunari, and particularly strange that it happens while our former companion, Sten, is the Arishok … the one in charge of their military … the same person who insisted that southern Thedas could not be conquered by force and instead needed far more subtly to accomplish …

It just seems too convenient, doesn’t it? I can’t be the only one to see all the holes, all the neat little coincidences. Granted, this very well could just be explained away by the fact that Origins was Bioware’s first game in the Dragon Age series and they hadn’t really worked out all the kinks of their lore (they’ve backtracked and retconned before, so the behaviour of Darkspawn and the distance between Ferelden and Par Vollen could have very well just not been properly established yet). But I prefer to look at these plot holes and instead see an over-arching Qunari conspiracy to take over southern Thedas, whose attempts were simply thwarted by a Blight and by an Inquisitor respectively. Partly because it feels better than “oh, it’s just plot holes” and partly because this would really help set up and implement the Qunari as the next opponent in DA5 (Yes, 5. Not 4. Lemme at the Egg first in 4, then we can deal with the Qunari later). And since Bioware does tend to hint at big bads in previous games (Corypheus appeared in a DLC in DA2 and became your main opponent in Inquisition, Solas appeared at the end of Inquisition and is highly hinted to be who we’ll be fighting against in 4 …) this would fit their MO quite well at weaving in future storylines in previous games.

#beauties and headcanons #elisabeths gaming corner #dragon age #dragon age origins #dragon age inquisition #trespasser #trespasser dlc #sten #arishok #viddasala #qunari #qunari conspiracy #conspiracy #lore #dragon age lore

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comradekatara · 4 years

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what does pai sho reflects on the characters in atla? who is their favorite opponent?

aang: he likes it fine. as far as games go, it’s a bit too sedentary for him. he likes playing it with zuko and katara, because they play the game pretty fast-paced, and they never keep score. he hates playing against sokka, it’s super boring and takes forever and sokka takes it way too seriously. mai is his favorite opponent, though, because it’s clear she actually knows the ins and outs of the game, but she doesn’t treat it like life or death, and her very subtle trash talk is hilarious.

zuko: he hates pai sho and generally refuses to play it. sometimes his uncle wears him down, but usually zuko wins those fights by throwing a tantrum and storming off, which iroh decides isn’t worth his time. he agrees to play aang sometimes because he has a very hard time saying no to aang due to his overwhelming energy and puppy-like demeanor. zuko regrets teaching sokka how to play because he fears he created a monster. sokka makes zuko play him sometimes, but the whole time sokka just taunts him for being terrible at pai sho. once iroh, aang, and sokka are all dead, though, he actually gets pretty into it. this is because katara is just as terrible at the game as he is, and being old as shit means they’ve actually grown to appreciate sitting around and playing board games, as opposed to their favored activities of their youth (causing chaos and setting things ablaze). they’re pretty evenly matched, and it suddenly occurs to them that maybe they’re not terrible at pai sho, sokka was just freakishly good.

katara: she is not good, and she is a very sore loser. she wins against aang, against zuko, even against suki a couple times, but she refuses to play sokka ever. she claims it is a dumb game for nerds, and also she doesn’t want to participate in fire nation culture thank you very much! zuko points out that the game’s been around for hundreds, if not thousands, of years, and katara just mutters, “of course you would say that, colonizer.” she refuses to play it for decades to come.

toph: sokka is sick of not being able to play pai sho against his favorite person, so one day he is just like “that’s it! we’re making a metal pai sho board!” and it really doesn’t take long at all for them to build it. all of a sudden, toph has joined the fray of eligible pai sho opponents, and of course she is great at it. it is, after all, a game all about waiting and listening. toph’s favorite opponent is azula. she thinks it’s funny when azula has to hold back tears after having lost a game, which is about 50% of the time. many breakthroughs happen during their weekly pai sho games. and toph looks forward to them.

suki: suki loves pai sho. suki loves board games, card games, games in general. suki is a very sore winner, even when the other person is not even aware that they are supposedly in competition. going out with suki is actually a very tiring affair because she is always the first person to suggest that they play a drinking game. and then once she’s drunk, nay, just slightly tipsy, she demands that everyone in her vicinity try to fight her, all the while insisting that she would kick their ass if they even tried. suki has a lot of fun playing pai sho. she and mai first became friends over a game of pai sho, and they play at every opportunity. they are both part of an ongoing tournament among the kyoshi warriors, as well as mai and sokka. she insists that someday she’ll beat sokka and/or ty lee, but that day never does arrive. but she beats iroh once, and rides that high for a month.

mai: mai thinks pai sho is fun. pai sho makes sense. there’s beauty in its structure. she and ty lee used to play all the time when they were little, and she cherishes those memories. some days, when azula’s lessons would extend past their usual hour, they would be ushered to an empty room of the palace and just be forced to sit there and wait for azula. of course, this didn’t bother them at all, and these were in fact their favorite days at the palace. sometimes zuko would just sit there with them, but he wouldn’t really talk to them, just take out a book and start reading. and then sometimes, iroh would play them in pai sho. iroh never let them win, which mai knew because she never did. granted, she was eight. that said, ty lee did beat him. she mentions this to zuko years down the line, to which he is skeptical, which annoys her. her favorite opponents are suki, sokka, and toph. playing against ty lee isn’t fun for her anymore, though, because she hates knowing that ty lee is lying to her, even if it’s just for the sake of winning a game. they play boggle instead.

ty lee: she’s a pai sho master. she loses on purpose a lot, but very rarely does she find an opponent where she actually struggles to win. sokka is that opponent. the first time they play each other, they find themselves at a complete and total impasse because both of their strategies rely on the other player growing too confident and revealing too much, and both of them know better. at one point ty lee wins just by really subtly negging sokka into submission. sokka’s just like “i suddenly feel really bad for azula.”

azula: up until the day she plays sokka, azula is of the belief that she has an unbeatable pai sho record and has never lost and will never lose a game. she goes her whole life not realizing that ty lee lost to her on purpose, and then would say, so earnestly, “wow, azula! you’re really good at pai sho!” to which azula would say something about how her superior cunning is all just part of being a good princess, to which ty lee would nod emphatically and say “i bet!” sokka beats her, easily no less, and she feels like she’s been punched in the gut. what’s worse is that zuko was there, and he saw it all play out, which is quite possibly one of the only factors that could make that situation more humiliating than it already was. and of course, zuko does revel in watching sokka best her, because of course he would. she plays her uncle a couple times, and finds the experience torturous. but she does genuinely enjoy those days wherein she gets to play toph.

sokka: mai decides that sokka is good people the second that she sees him play a single game of pai sho. for sokka, learning pai sho feels like coming home. no matter how many decades pass, he never tires of it. his strategy is infallible: lose the first round, possibly even the second (depending on the skill of the opponent) and then use all the intel he collected on that person’s strategy to wipe the floor with them forevermore. his brain is a database of everyone’s pai sho strategies, and the better he knows someone, the easier it is for him to beat them. (katara, zuko, and suki are by far his easiest opponents, for example.) he has about a 99.9% success rate, and yet he still maintains that he has room for improvement, that he just hasn’t found the right opponent to properly challenge him yet. that person is asami, who stumbles (with korra) into him and iroh playing pai sho in the spirit world, which is what they’ve been doing every day for the past 10+ years. the game takes forever, but once asami eventually beats him, sokka just looks very intensely at korra and says, “listen to me: never let her go, okay??”

iroh: he claims he hasn’t lost a game in fifty years. sokka counters that he probably just hasn’t had very good opponents. iroh explains to him the symbolic significance of the lotus tile. sokka captures his lotus tile and tells him that it’s functionally useless as long as you know how to counter it. iroh isn’t used to people knowing how to counter it. also, he’s conveniently forgetting that time an eight year old kicked his ass. he has since convinced himself that he let her win, but deep down, he knows better, mai knows better, ty lee knows better. none of this stops him from favoring the lotus tile, though. it’s pretty!

#the gaang and #asks #anon #sloooooowly getting around to these longer asks i promise #pai sho

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the-innefable-idiot · 4 years

Text

welcome home

Hello yall!!!

This is my 3k fic based on the fic "another part of me could be you" by @spaceskam. I honestly don't know how to classify this, but you can consider a homage (?) to her work.

This pretty much a fanfic of a fanfic... yeah. I know.

Every feedback is welcome, both for plot/characterization and grammar/ponctuation. English is not my first language, so I usually right phrases that only make perfect sense to me. I want your reading to be as enjoyable as possible! :D

Please, enjoy!

Also on AO3.

Oh, I hope someday I'll make it out of here

Even if it takes all night or a hundred years

Need a place to hide, but I can't find one near

Wanna feel alive, outside I can fight my fear

(Lovely, Billie Eilish feat. Khalid)

Michael almost looses Alex for the second time, and now je realises it's time for him to get his act together. He just wasn't expecting all the love and support he got.

Home is a concept that Michael never quite understood. Sure, he lived in many houses, but the goodbyes were never emotional. He knows that home is not the structure, but the feelings attached to some place, something or someone. Whenever he thought of home, blurred memories from outer space came to mind. The feeling of belonging was strong, even if he couldn’t attach an image to it.

Michael used to spend hours fantasizing on how to turn a house into a home. A collection of mugs nicely displayed in the dining room. Vinyls and cds on one shelf and books on another, with a nice record player nearby. Some musical instruments considered weird by western standards. The walls covered with pictures of people and places he loved alongside posters of movies and bands he enjoyed. Had he grown up in a nice home, he would probably have been those kids with a camera in hand at all times, capturing moments around him.

Once he knew he was so, but so close to understand the meaning of home. He was thinking about buying a camera literally moments before his hand was shattered by a psychopath. Since then he swore to never raise his hopes. The day drinking and the bar fighting were the ways he made sure to never expect anything from anyone. Alex symbolized everything he wanted to have, but couldn’t, so he was determined to go for a simpler route.

With Maria things were nice. A little bit more complicated than he expected, but still nice. Sure, she wouldn't be moving to the airstream anytime soon, but the relationship was nice. Her place has a few of his things: a toothbrush, a few pieces of clothing neatly folded in one corner of a drawer, a few bottles of beer and whiskey, a handful of books and even some mechanical tools he forgot to take back to his place. Michael never enjoyed making Maria to spend the night at the airstream, first because the overall place was tiny and uncomfortable, and second because her house had the whole atmosphere he dreamt about.

It was clear the effort they were putting into the relationship. Maybe a bit too much of an effort, some might say. As the time passed, everyone close to them noticed how the smiles between them stopped reaching their eyes. Michael would never admit it, but Alex being kidnapped only sped up the inevitable.

Michael knew something bad happened before Forrest came to him in the middle of a panic attack. He had this prickling feeling on his neck that something was just not right since he opened his eyes that morning. Now he was gripping the steering wheel of his truck and focusing on not letting his powers break something. The adrenalin rush being the only thing keeping him from having a mental breakdown. Actually, filling in Forrest with the whole alien thing was a great distraction because of the many details and intricate history he had to cover. Maybe Forrest noticed it and kept asking questions to ground Michael to the task at hand. Maybe Michael will find a way to subtly thank him later for that. Just maybe.

After finding a path of bodies that lead to a bleeding Alex on the floor, Michael felt like breathing for the first time that day. The relief was short, however, and the moment he saw the deadly wound (gun? Knife? Oh God it was bad) he knew what he should do. Forrest was holding an unconscious Alex on his arms. Somehow he managed to tear apart the bloodied shirt to ease the access to the wound (thanks Forrest, again). Michael's healing powers were shit, and he knew he wouldn't be able to heal Alex completely, but damn him if he weren't going to die trying.

The last thing he clearly remembers is the glow on his hands. He has flashes of walking to the car and drinking acetone. He was 75% sure he didn't hallucinate Kyle being there to check up on Alex. Did Alex really ask to sleep by his side? Was Forrest still there? Who knew? Definitely not him.

The next day Michael woke up at noon, still not sure if he was indeed in bed with those two guys or if it was just his brain revenging him after almost melting it the night before. Alex was still too drugged up for Michael to feel anything concrete from the handprint, but only the fact everyone was breathing was enough to calm him down.

This moment of silence between the three of them only gave Michael the reassurance to set things right with Maria. He couldn't keep marinating her in a below-average relationship just so he could prove a point. Maria deserved more than he could give her.

-------

The break-up was... complex. He could see jealousy and suspicion in her body language, and nothing Michael said changed that. Deep down she always new the possibility of Michael going back to Alex, but she was willing to try anyway. She was making an effort not to be too angry, after all she knew her friend had a past with the cowboy but still wanted to try a relationship. She avoided Alex for a while, scared for his reaction, but when the confrontation happened, she was met with nothing but understanding. She’ll never know how Alex could be so calm back then, because right now this fucking hurt and she wanted to punch something.

Moments before he left, Maria stopped him, asking him the one thing he didn't want to answer.

"Why are you choosing him now, Michael?" She asked while putting too much force on drying a cup of glass. "The other day he was stabbed, and you stayed for me. So, what changed? Definitely not Alex almost dying"

"I don't... know." He hesitated. Who was he kidding, this was their break-up and she deserved the truth, even if it meant not crossing her path ever again. "I think that nothing changed, actually. I really believed we had a chance at being happy together, you and I, and I was willing to try. I was so focused on choosing you over him every time that in that morning it was more of an autopilot choice. I didn't follow my heart because I’ve programmed myself to choose you." He could feel his voice cracking. The words were too painful even to him, but once he started he couldn't stop.

"God, Michael" she put the glass down hard, the only reason for not breaking being its thickness. "I am angry, and sad, and I don't want to see you for a while, but..." she looked at him, her voice going a bit soft for her next words "what we had was exhausting. I've been trying to pinpoint the moment where we turned the relationship into an obligation. Now I see it’s been like this since the beginning, but we couldn’t keep the act for too long."

"I'm sorry, Deluca."

"I'm sorry too." She turned her back on him to organize the bottles on the shelf. "Just... stay away for a while, yes? I need to clear my head."

Michael tipped his cowboy hat and left without saying a word. Mixed with the sadness was a sense of relief. Now Deluca was free from him, free to search for someone who will wholeheartedly love her the way she deserved. He didn’t regret being with her, they took a shot and failed, but that’s life. At least they know they tried. His regret was on his actions. Maybe if he’d been more honest since the beginning, the end would’ve been different.

-------

Alex was still asleep when Michael came back to the cabin. The handprint feeling was still fuzzy, so good thing Alex didn't feel all the whirlwind of emotions from the conversation with Maria. Michael had to drive around for a few hours after leaving the Wild Pony just to clear his head. The first thing he noticed when entering the cabin was Forrest in the kitchen, probably cooking something for Alex.

"Alex said, and I quote, you like your coffee like you like your men and women: strong and sweet. Is that right?" Forrest asked without taking his eyes from the stove. "I’m cooking everyone’s favourite because... well... because I can, but also because we deserve it. Alex and I ate half an hour ago, but gimme five minutes and your food will be ready."

Michal was shocked. One thing was Alex telling Forrest what Michael liked to eat and drink, another thing was for Forrest to get out of his way to just cook it. Why would he do that, specially considering he was the ex in the equation?

"Michael, I barely know you and I can almost feel you overthinking this. Before Alex went back to take a nap he told me you were getting near the cabin and that I should start cooking. Which reminded me, later you both must explain the whole handprint thing for me. I’m still digesting the whole alien superpower thing, but I want to know more" Michael could hear Forrest's smile in his voice. Forrest was relieved and comfortable so his entire body acted like it.

"Michael. Sit."

And he sat on the table without thinking twice. Sure, the warmth he was feeling towards Forrest was 100% from Alex because of the handprint, but damn this pocket-size historian for making it way too easy to like him.

Forrest put the meal on the table and sat near him. Michael only realised he was starving the moment he took the first bite, and in less than 10 minutes all the food was gone. The coffee was in a nice mug with the Slipknot logo on it, probably Forrest’s, because he knew Alex inclined towards the more emo bands.

As he rinsed the dishes and put them in the dishwasher, Forrest sat on the couch. Michael knew he should leave and let Forrest take care of Alex, but he ended up sitting by the historian's side. He simply didn't want to go.

"Michael..." Forrest started, with his voice soft and his eyes even softer. "You are probably confused by your feelings because of the handprint. Right now you are feeling what Alex feels, so we can only have this full conversation once you are out of Alex's system."

Michael had to take a sip of his coffee just to do something with his hands. In his mind he was bracing himself for the final blow that would destroy him. Forrest was going to order him to leave them alone and never go back.

"Alex told me about your history, and I am so sorry for all the trauma you went through, and I am not saying only your hand.”

Oh, so Forrest knew about that.

“The three of us... we grew up thinking that love and pain are intertwined, you can only love something if you suffer for it." Forrest grabbed Michael's hands, forcing Michael to keep eye contact. "It took me and Alex years and a literal war to understand that love is not painful. It’s hard to believe, both at home or in a battlefield, and even to this day I wake up with doubts.” He paused, taking a deep breath. Michael could see Forrest tensing up, an indication that the next words were hard for him to say out loud.

“Maybe my family is right and being gay is a punishment, and I deserve to be loveless and miserable for the rest of my life. When you hear you’re not worthy enough times, you start believing in it. Some days nothing, and I mean nothing, can change my mind."

Forrest noticed Michael was getting uncomfortable, and let go of his hands. Both took a sip of their drinks before Forrest sighed, and Michael could see the sadness behind his eyes. A sadness he knew all too well, one that everyone carries but few could hide well. It was a sadness that put doubt in people's heart and turned their self-worth into smoke. Michael wanted to hold Forrest and tell him that everything was going to be alright, but it was probably Alex' influence.

"Alex told me you grew up in the system, the next family worse than the last. I’ve worked with endangered youth, kids with similar stories, and I know how ugly it can get.”

Michael tensed up even more, a reflex that Forrest mistook for annoyance or anger. Michael tried his best to relax, to show Forrest it wasn’t him. It was an unconscious reaction from years of abuse. The historian hesitated for a moment, but then continued.

“What I’m saying is that... it was hard for me to learn that suffering for love ain't romantic or cute. Alex and I want to help you get out of this destructive path you are going through, but we need to start things right. No lies, no secrets, and specially no shame." Forrest grabbed Michael's hand again, but this time Michael was more comfortable. "I want you both to be happy, even if it means me getting out of the picture eventually." As a reflex, Michael tightened his hand, a silent 'no' for the possibility. Forrest smiled and let his thumb caressed the back of Michael's hand.

"I know you can't make any decision right now. First because you just broke up with a long-term friend, and second because of the handprint. Much of your feelings are from Alex, so you are biased. But..." He stopped to bring Michael hands to his lips, and Forrest kissed them lightly with a hint of a smile "once we settle down, we can try something different.”

Michael was taken by surprise. He ran many scenarios in his head, and none of them came close to <i>that.

“I mean, what's the point of being a gay historian if I keep my mind closed towards contemporary interpersonal relations? Monogamy is a recent construct to better control nuclear households and… and... I am going to stop because I am losing the focus here.”

Michael laughed. He understood more and more Forrest's appeal. After a few hours of almost losing Alex and breaking up with Maria, Forrest managed to make Michael laugh.

“Alex says I get a bit too passionate about this matters and..."

"Can I kiss you?" Michael blurted, surprising even himself. "I know, I know, the handprint and all, but Alex's feelings are still fuzzy from the drugs and I am pretty sure he doesn't control every single emotion I have." Now it was time for Forrest to be taken aback. He pondered for two heartbeats and nodded, still processing what just happened.

Michael caressed Forrest face, mimicking what the historian did few moments ago on the back of his hand. Michael’s calloused fingers brushed the other man’s face, bringing him closer. It started as a brush of lips, and then escalated to a slow and tender kiss. It was one of those that meant comfort, not sex. It made Michael feel warm and safe. Forrest was saying "I accept you and you can stay", and Michael almost felt like crying.

The kiss was broken when they felt the weight shift in the sofa. Michael didn't know for how long they’ve been kissing. The only thing he processed was Forrest on his lap by the time Alex showed up. Michael was starting to panic when Forrest just let a little laugh, going back to the couch to give Alex a kiss on his forehead.

Michael's heart only came back to normal because he could feel how calm and peaceful Alex was. If not for the handprint, he’d definitely be running away right now. After the initial shock, Michael started to process how easy it felt to kiss Forrest while actively ignoring how he was the current boyfriend of his ex.

"You're overthinking again, Michael." Surprisingly (or maybe not), this phrase came out of Forrest, again. He didn't need a handprint to understand what was going on inside the alien's head, and that scared Michael. If only by knowing the stories he understood Michael better than his siblings, what would Forrest be able to do with a little more intimacy?

"War taught us that we can't take tomorrow for granted." Alex said, with a hint of tiredness in his voice that only existed after a drug-induced sleep. "That doesn't mean I'll feel sorry for you and let you go away with all the shit you put me through, Guerin." Alright, back to the last name basis then. "But I will, actually we will, offer you a chance of redemption, but it will all depend on you."

"Own your mistakes and learn from them. Don't project your faults onto others." Forrest said while standing up from the couch. "That means no more bullshit, Guerin."

Michael felt oddly comforted by both men being so straightforward. Yeah, he could get used to this bluntness. Maybe this is the first change he has to make from now on.

"Once this handprint fades and we’re in fully control of our emotions, we’ll talk about possibilities. Right now I just need to focus on not dying from an infected wound which an alien helped to heal." Alex said, finishing Forrest's tea to the last drop.

“Now, let’s give ourselves some time to digest everything. God knows I still need to process that I made coffee for an alien”. Which, by the way, would you like some more tea, captain?” Forrest stood up and grabbing the mug from Alex' hands. He didn't have to look at Alex to know the answer. "More coffee for you, Michael?" He motioned to the mug on the table.

Michael nodded, still mesmerized by what was happening. They had a long path ahead of them, but he knew how easy could it be to fall into a routine with them. Maybe the Slpiknot mug would slowly turn into his mug, and this realisation terrified him.

Michael slowly gave the object to the historian. He felt like if he moved a bit too abrupt, everything would dissolve and he would wake up in the airstream. Instead, the only thing that happened was Forrest going back to the kitchen and Alex completely relaxed on the couch.

“Did he give you the whole speech about monogamy and nuclear households? I mean, the whole speech?” Michael shook his head no, and Alex let out a soft laugh. “Then get ready for at least a two-hour lecture from him. I’m not exaggerating. He has a powerpoint presentation about it.”

Michael could feel more of Alex as the seconds passed, and he has never been so sure that he wanted to change. Forrest and Alex started talking about nothing in particular and Michael closed his eyes, letting himself be surrounded by the tenderness and warmth radiating from that place.

the end

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artificialqueens · 5 years

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Bring It On Again pt 2 (Branjie) - Ashley

A/N: part 2 of Bring It On, time for Brooke to try out for the Amazons! Hope you like! Thanks for the lovely feedback make sure to keep it coming and any concrit you have. Just wanna apologise for a typo that slipped away from me in the first chapter I’ve been a lot more vigilant this time. This ones a bit sad, prepare for an ep7 untucked level bust up, but oh well. Enjoy! Love Ashley xoxo

One night was all she’d had to try and channel her precise years of ballerina training into the fast-paced flicks and fierceness of cheerleading. Although she was physically capable of doing all the moves she had been meticulously researching, Brooke was still far out of her comfort zone - yes she could flip but could she do it fast enough? Would she even look like a cheerleader? It took every inch of will not to return her feet back to third position after completing a move, now having to keep them shoulder-width apart and her arms raised in a high V instead. The moment had arrived and despite begging Jovan to come to watch her audition he was decidedly against the whole nature of cheerleading so she had come alone. Trying hard not to let the cheerleaders intimidate her, Brooke cast her mind back to Toronto where she had always floated above the rest of the school, she was ready. Like something out of a 2000s teen film, the squad sat at a long table of 5; two boys adjourning either end, Akeria and Silky sat next to each of them and of course Vanessa in the middle. They all had matching blue and white tracksuit jackets with the Amazon emblem embroidered at the left side of the chest. Vanessa’s differed from everyone else; with gold piping around the edge and “Vanjie” written under the logo, she separated herself from the rest of the group, outlining herself as the ruler of the group. “You need to fill one of these out,” she looked at Brooke with slight disdain, holding up the application form. “Did it,” Brooke replied sharply, whipping the sheet from her pocket and walking towards the table to hand it to the girl. Her large eyes skimming the page quickly, Vanessa grinned: “Brooke Lynn, is it? Before we start I’m going to need to make sure you can do a standing back tuck. Standard procedure, you’ll understand.” “Just Brooke. Standing back handspring, back tuck okay?” she replied, not waiting for the girls response before throwing herself backwards into the move- grateful for the years of gymnastic seminars and flexibility training that accompanied her focus on ballet, Brooke knew she was still in too deep with the moves, but if there was one thing she’d learned about competition it was that they should never see you falter. “Nice job white girl,” Akeria smiled at Brooke, jotting something down in her notebook. “But can she yell? We’ll try an oldie” Vanessa looked Brooke up and down, clearly taking note of her quieter and more reserved nature compared to the Amazons. Moving her arms to the tune of her own chant, she began to perform from her seat and once again Brooke realised why everyone at the school was so obsessed with Vanessa and the Amazons, something about her was just so captivating, even when sitting down and cheering Brooke was still impressed: “We’re bad, we got the T, we can’t be had, we’re the best so score them points, you win the game we’ll rock this joint. Go Amazons!” Brooke tried her hardest to mimic Vanessa’s cheer, even throwing an arabesque in at the end, but she knew her voice wasn’t as loud or commanding as it should have been. “I transferred from a Ballet Academy in Toronto, your school has no other type of dance and it’s a last resort. I haven’t cheered before but I can learn. I checked out your stuff online, it’s good but you need to be different to become number one, you could use me,” Brooke pleaded her case to the girl, trying not to let her emotions cloud over too much, she knew Vanessa would not allow a weak player onto the team. “Do it,” Silky nudged Vanessa to which the girl looked up in response. “Front handspring, step out, round off. Back handspring, step out, round off. Back handspring, full twisting layout,” Vanessa popped the “t” in layout with a devilish smile, raising her brow at Brooke. Simultaneously angry and aroused towards the other girl, Brooke waltzed to the back of the gym, keeping her arms elegantly draped by her sides. The whole room was silent other than the light patter of Brooke’s footsteps. The tension knife worthy, she turned to face the panel and dived - hitting every single step perfectly. Landing eventually close to the table and facing the opposite way she turned around to see Vanessa’s mouth open with surprise. Despite the other girls hollering and cheering at her, Brooke found the most pride in the response from Vanessa, knowing it took a lot to impress the commander of the squad. She had broken through her hard exterior, only just. Despite that breakthrough simply being a small opening of the mouth, it still validated Brooke nonetheless, she was on her way to impressing the ice queen. One count at a time. “Brooke is bank!” One of the boys at the end of the table grinned towards Brooke. “Bankrupt,” Vanessa retaliated, giving the boy one of her infamous looks. “I’m captain and what I say goes. This is not a democracy. Sorry, Brooke Lynn, I don’t think you have what it takes. Maybe next time.” For years Brooke had learned how to take defeat. You smile, you thank for the opportunity, you say goodbye and exit with grace. In her old life, she’d done it hundreds of times with no issue, knowing that it was just another bend in the road. All of that was gone here. Fighting back tears she grabbed her bag from the floor and stormed out the gym - the antithesis of graceful and pristine. Vanessa’s words ringing in her ear, she hadn’t even noticed that Jovan was at the doorway until he grabbed her arm and pulled her to one side. “I told you so?” Brooke said to him with choked breath, wishing she’d stayed away from the cheerleaders as Jovan had warned. “We’ve all been there B, you ever wondered why I hate them so much? You’d think being double jointed in almost every way would get me on their squad but it didn’t. And here I am saying I want nothing to do with it yet unable to resist watching. Trust me though, you killed it. They’ll be regretting not having you when they’re still coming second at nationals. They’re just jealous Brooke. Stupid bitches,” he responded, Brooke, surprised at the nice words towards her coming out of his usual cynical tirades. Used to bottling her feelings, Brooke let the tears fall down her cheeks as she hugged her new friend, grateful to have someone there for her. “What do you say we go to mine, watch sad movies and get pissed again? My parents are out of town” he asked her. “Your sister..” Brooke looked at him in response. “In case you haven’t already noticed, I don’t give a fuck what she thinks.” Jovan laughed, “I promise we’ll stay well clear of her.” “Only if I pick the film,” Brooke propositioned, “I’m not watching any of the weird shit you have on DVD.” “Deal,” Jovan raised his hand for Brooke to shake whilst laughing. Fuck Vanessa, she thought, maybe her night wouldn’t be so bad after all. *** “I’m sorry, girl. If I had known..” Jovan trailed off, the loud music being played downstairs filling what would have been an awkward silence in the room. “It’s fine,” Brooke said taking a heftier sip from her drink until it was all gone, “I had to face them at some point, better sooner than later I guess.” Having been drinking since they returned home from school that day, it was safe to say that the pair were slightly steamed. “It’s my fault, I should have known that obnoxious popular teenagers and a free house meant a party. Would it make you feel better if we tried to steal some of their booze?” The tipsy and confident Brooke she had met at the start of the week returning, she smiled at Jovan in response, “Yes. Yes, it would.” Making their way downstairs, Brooke knew they’d be unable to avoid Vanessa. Despite being so horrible earlier, in her current state Brooke wanted to see her, to look her in the eyes and see how she reacted. Jovan was right, Brooke had killed it in her tryout and if Vanessa couldn’t see that then she was a stupid bitch. Walking into the kitchen where she’d encountered the girl the last time she was here, Brooke was determined to rise above whatever may be said as she made her way to the fridge. “Vanjie, who’s the babe with your step-brother?” Vanessa’s boyfriend asked non-subtly, despite having already met Brooke on the previous Monday. The couple sat on a red couch in the corner surrounded by the rest of the cheer squad and some other students Assumedly on a similar level to Jovan and Brooke with a drink in her hand, Vanessa looked at the pair and responded: “She’s nobody, just some transfer who thinks she’s hot shit.” Sticking with her mantra to rise above it, Brooke looked in Vanessa’s direction and was all set on ignoring the couple until Jovan turned around and rose his voice towards his sister, the alcohol in his system leaving him clearly incapable of holding back. “Hey Vanessa, has anyone ever told you that you’re jealous? You’re all about team spirit and being number one but you know fine and well that you’d rather lose every competition than have someone that slightly better than you on your squad. So what is it about Brooke? She’s prettier, she’s more polished, she’s stronger?” Despite being tipsy, Brooke could see the flinch of pain Vanessa had felt at her brother’s words before she reverted back to her usual sense and laughed at his comment, brushing it off as if it were nothing in front of all of her squad. “It’s more to do with the fact she can’t cheer,” Vanessa retaliated harshly, Brooke seeing the pain behind her glossy eyes and gritted teeth as she did so. “Sorry guys, I guess it’s time for everyone to go, can’t seem to have any fun around here without people ruining it. I’ll see you lot for practice on Sunday.” *** “Jovan, you didn’t have to do that,” Brooke said to her friend as his sister escorted the rest of the guests out of the house. “Someone needs to put her in her place, Brooke. All I did was be honest,” he sighed as his sister entered the room again. Gone was the calm exterior she had held previously in front of everyone, Vanessa was mad. “I thought I told everyone to leave,” she glared in Brooke’s direction, resulting in a scoff from her brother. Not wanting to cause any more trouble, Brooke grabbed her bag and went to get up before being stopped by Jovan. “You don’t own this house Vanessa; and anything you want to say to me you can say in front of Brooke. I’m sorry you have a problem with my honesty.” The tension radiating between them, Brooke was waiting for the storm - despite wanting to hide from the clash of two huge personalities, she found herself glued to the spot she stood in, unable to look away from the pair as though they were the wreckage of a car crash. “I don’t have an issue with your ‘honesty’, but if you have an issue with me you can pull me aside and tell me you don’t have to pop off at me in front of my whole team. I thought we were closer than that,” “I did not pop off at you, I told you the goddamn truth. You’re so defensive, and that’s the only reason I pushed any of your buttons in the first place” “You’re so full of shit Jovan. The other day there you were telling me how proud you were of me!” Vanessa was screaming at this point, her voice hoarse and tears pricking her eyes. Every face Jovan had pulled when Brooke mentioned the cheerleaders to him, every awkward encounter she had witnessed between the siblings had all amounted to this moment. “Because I was fucking proud of you,” Jovan shouted back at his sister. “It’s not my fault you never made it onto the squad Jovan, it’s been years just get over it. You knew at the time there was nothing I could do, I wasn’t gonna give up my chance to please you when all you do is shit like this,” “I don’t give a shit that I didn’t make it onto the squad with you 2 fucking years ago Vanessa, but you’ve turned into that person who did that to me and now you’re doing it to Brooke. Yes, I was fucking proud of you working hard to be a captain but not if you’re gonna let your jealousy take over.” Clearly striking a chord with Vanessa, she got closer into her brothers face. Coming from such a humble background and life in Toronto she didn’t know how to react to the current situation at all. Any fighting Brooke had witnessed in the ballet world had been behind the scenes and sneaky, the complete opposite at the screaming match the siblings were having in front of her, with years of anger and non-raised issues clearly seeping through the surface of their words. “Regardless of what you think, I would have never have spoken to you like that in front of people who are meant to respect you like you just did on the couch! I would have pulled you aside and said ‘Jovan you’re fucking jealous”” Vanessa shouted again, the argument between the two siblings being clearly deeper rooted than insecurity about her position of power on the Amazons. “Well, I think you’re a fucking terrible sister because I’m not here to hide around away from you and whisper shit in your direction. You can yell at me when I leave high school with a fucking good life because I didn’t spend my whole time there trying to impress people who won’t give a shit about me in a few years time,” Jovan started to walk away from Vanessa, knocking over a chair in the process. “I was trying to be cordial with you,” “I don’t need anyone to be cordial with me, I need you to be real. At least I’m getting the real you now, ey sis.” “I thought we were fucking cool Jovan,” Vanessa let her emotions pour out, Brooke shocked at the girl she’d barely seen move her face in a week losing any sense of her priorly cold exterior. Vanessa was a real human being and she was hurt. “If we’re cool, I’m not gonna lie to you like all your teammates do. I’m not gonna feed you with bullshit like those ‘sisters’ do, is that what makes you happy?” “I never told you to lie to me!” Vanessa gave one last final scream at her brother, her voice minutes from breaking, before running out of the room. Although she hadn’t known her for long, Brooke could see she was coming from a hurt place. The click of the front door shutting rang through the suddenly silent house. “Fuck,” Jovan shouted to himself before kicking the chair that had been knocked on the floor, a lot of pent up anger from years of his relationship with his step-sister having just spilt out of him like a tap too tight to turn off. Adjusting to the way in which the room had gone from 100 to 0 in less than a minute, Brooke was about to comfort her friend like he had done for her earlier when he stopped her, “It’s freezing outside,” he looked to the floor, not making eye contact with Brooke. “You should go find her,” Brooke suggested. “She won’t talk to me, and if I’m honest I don’t want to talk to her either, I just don’t want her to freeze,” Jovan laughed in a slightly hysterical way. The way you laughed when everything you felt had been torn out of you and your body couldn’t comprehend any other way in which to react. All that was left to do in the sick silence was to laugh. “I’ll go find her,” Brooke said, any prior anger she felt towards Vanessa melted away by the scene she just watched unfold. “Thanks,” he said, curling his knees up to his chest and rubbing his hands over his shaved head clearly trying to process what had just happened. *** Clad in one of Jovan’s fleecy coats with another one in hand for his sister, it didn’t take Brooke long to find the other girl. There she was curled up on a bench by the park close to her home, hands running through her hair. Despite the argument, they had had and the fact that they shared no blood, it was clear she and Jovan were related. “Hey,” Brooke sat next to her, unsure of what else to say. “I brought you a coat.” “I’m fine,” Vanessa spoke quietly and looked straight ahead, not making eye contact Brooke. “You’re stubborn aren’t you,” Brooke rested the coat on the other girls back. “You don’t know me,” she whispered again, Brooke seeing a different side to both the Vanessa she had watched at school for the past week and the one she’d watched not more than half an hour earlier in the kitchen. “I know you’re upset, and I know it’s freezing out here.” Garnering no response from the girl, Brooke spoke again, “If you’re not gonna speak to me it’s fine but I’m not leaving you alone like this, I can ring your boyfriend if you want?” In a similar way to how Jovan had done so earlier in the calm after the storm, Vanessa began to laugh to herself as though her body had no other way of processing the events of the night. “It’s Friday so he’ll probably be at Ariel’s, or is it Kahanna’s on a Friday, I can never keep up.” “Well he clearly doesn’t deserve you but maybe that’s something for another time,” Brooke looked at the girl, not wanting to scare her away by prying too deep into her life. She had already seen such a vulnerable side to someone so guarded and didn’t want to intrude even further. “You don’t need to worry about me, I’m a big girl, I’ve got this,” she raised her eyebrows towards Brooke, looking at her for the first time since she had sat down. “Well I don’t really believe you so I’m just gonna stay here until you’re alright,” Brooke said. “You don’t have to babysit me for my brother, I’m fine.” Vanessa pleaded. “I’m not,” Brooke responded, which was true, although Jovan had asked her to find his sister she genuinely wanted to make sure the girl was okay after seeing her in such a vulnerable state. Pulling a bottle of water from her pocket, she offered some to the girl. “Don’t you think I’ve had enough for one night,” “It’s water,” Brooke laughed, causing Vanessa to crack up too. Within minutes they were both dying with laughter and even though Brooke knew objectively that it wasn’t really funny, something about the atmosphere in the air and the whole fucked up night they’d had just made the girls laugh more and more. Until of course Vanessa was no longer laughing, tears once again streaming down her face the way they had when she argued with her brother. Brooke put her arm around the girl and rubbed her back softly. “It’s alright,” she whispered. “Why are you being so nice to me? I’ve been a bitch” Vanessa asked, turning to look at Brooke. She was a deer in headlights. A lost puppy looking for comfort. “As much as I’d love to give some sort of poetic answer like they do in the movies, I don’t have a fucking clue,” Brooke looked up at the night sky. She hadn’t known what to expect when picturing her new life in Florida but it certainly hadn’t been trying out for cheerleading, befriending a double jointed oddball and sitting on a bench at midnight comforting a girl who had treated her worse than muck. A girl may she add that she probably would have kissed were she not in such a vulnerable state. “I don’t have a fucking clue, Vanessa.”

#rpdr fanfiction #brooke lynn hytes #vanessa vanjie mateo #yvie oddly #branjie #bring it on #bring it on again #high school au #lesbian au #tw alcohol #angst #ashley #concrit welcome #submission #s11

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wewillwriteyou · 5 years

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Friends Will Be Friends || Chapter 1

Prologue

A few elements from the main plot: A very special group of friends: early days, drama, laughter, booze, success, rock stars life, girl power, friendship, love, sex, music, misunderstandings, some more drama, family. Pairings in the tags

Summary Chapter 1: Introduction of some of the main characters (Melissa, Roger). We don’t wanna give away to much, just read it lol

Word count: 2.3K

Warnings: mention of alcohol, a little bit of swearing and angst (blink and you won’t see it)

A/N: We’re sooo excited to share with you the first chapter of our story. Please feel free to comment below and let us know what you think. If you need more information, click on the link at the beginning of this post. If you want to be tagged, our tag list is always open 💕

Giggles. That’s the thing that woke Mel that Saturday. Well, that and almost every other Saturday morning of the year, actually. She slowly got up from the bed, rubbing her eyes and walked towards the source of the noise, which she already knew it to be some floozy girl sitting on the kitchen counter. And there she was, in fact, legs dangling on the counter and sitting on a stool right in front of her, Mel’s brother, Roger, the reason for the girl’s presence.

She was all giggly and flirty, while not so subtly caressing Roger’s arm and thanking him for the previous night and for the impromptu breakfast he had so kindly made for her. Meanwhile, Roger was literally on another planet: he was nodding along with what the girl was saying, barely paying attention and writing something on a scrambled piece of paper.

They were too busy to notice that Mel had made her way into the room and was now standing on the other side of the counter, preparing some coffee to go. She gazed at her brother, giving him a look that said I wish I woke up one Saturday not feeling like we live in a bed and breakfast for one-night-stands. He scrolled his shoulders and kept on writing. That was their way of saying ‘Good morning’.

They performed that same routine since Mel had started uni and moved in with him and his roommate. They grew up in a small city in Cornwall and since Roger moved to London to study biology, it seemed a logical decision for Mel to attend university in London as well. She was into Physics so her high school professor encouraged her to submit for a scholarship at the Imperial and that’s exactly where she ended up.

From where she was standing, Mel noticed a mass of wavy brown hair lying on the couch, feet on the coffee table and book on the lap, trying his best to concentrate on his reading. That was Brian, the third roomer of the apartment. He studied Physics as well but was almost four years ahead of her. He was one of Roger’s best friends and co-founder of a band named Smile, which the two of them had formed a few years before: Roger played the drums, while Brian was on the guitar. They had struggled for a while to find a new singer since their former one left, but eventually another friend of Roger’s, Freddie, joined and things started to work out okay again. The only thing missing was a bass player, but they were working on that.

“I think I should go, thanks again for last night Rog” the girl smirked at Roger “Give me a call sometime”

He smirked back at her as she went toward the door, but Mel knew he would not have called her. That’s just how Roger was like different girl every weekend, sometimes two, one incredible night of passion and then they would never hear from him again. Mel could not understand how those girls put up with him being such a jerk. Although she might have understood why they fell for him at first: he was actually handsome and he was in a band, so that did half of the work.

“Just when I think you could have changed and actually cared about that girl enough to make her breakfast, you ruthlessly shrug her off like that” she teased him.

Roger ruffled her hair passing behind her “There’s no hope for me, little sister” he said jokingly “and also, Brian made breakfast. Thanks mate, by the way”

Brian flipped him off without even lifting his eyes from the book, then added “What time do you get off work tonight Mel?”

“I have a shift from 9 am to 1 pm and then from 2 pm to 7 pm. As usual. Why you ask?” she said, already picturing the answer.

“Do you have any plans after that?” Brian said casually.

“Why. Do. You. Ask?” she repeated more forcefully.

“Well,” he said cautiously “we’re playing at the Riz tonight and you know it’s always kinda… well, it’s not popular, we were wondering if you wanted to come see us. You know, so that we have at least one person in the audience”

Mel snorted “No Bri, you know I hate that place: there are only middle-aged men that make unflattering comments to every young girl who enters the bar”

She didn’t have to look at him, she knew he was making puppy eyes at her, so she sighed “Fine! If – and I say if – my afternoon shift doesn’t kill me, I’ll try to stop by…”

Brian joyfully thanked her, and she excused herself to go get ready for her job.

She worked on Fridays, Saturdays and basically anytime she could at a local shop called Biba: they stored famous and expensive clothing, which she could only admire the beauty of, not being an expert on the subject. It was just a small job to make some extra money and help out Roger with the rent.

As she walked through the doors she was welcomed by her co-workers Mary and Chelsea: all three of them were hired on the same day and had been working there since summer. They often chitchatted during breaks but weren’t properly friends, well Mary and Chelsea were, but Mel never hung out with them outside of work, which was why she was surprised when Mary asked her

“What are you doing tonight?”

“I kinda promised a friend I would quickly stop by the bar where they’re playing, before heading home. But I have all the intention to blow them off in favor of sitting in front of the telly, watching Coronation Street” she answered, already picturing the warmth of the blanket and cup of tea in her hands. “You doing anything special?”

The two girls exchanged a look and Chelsea said:

“Well… a friend of ours is throwing a party near Ealing’s main building and he asked everyone to spread the buzz. Apparently, someone challenged him to gather the biggest number of people he could. There will be music and, hopefully, a lot of alcohol. You interested?”

She almost denied the offer, but she had to admit she was actually pretty tempted and then realized she hadn’t been to a party in a bit.

“I’m in” she finally said with a smile.

The three of them worked peacefully till closing hour and then headed to the party together. She had to admit they were quite good company and they seemed to get along pretty well.

The party was held in the exhibitions area in the Design department of Ealing College, which was unused at that time; Mary and Chelsea knew their way around since they both studied design there. The place was not that crowded but there must have been at least three hundred people, mostly students and half of them was already tipsy due to the pints of beer that were being distributed at the entrance. The girls grabbed one each and dove into the crowd, making their way towards the dance platform.

They chatted for a bit, laughing and starting to feel the alcohol inebriating their mind as they begin to feel the rhythm of the music. While they were dancing Mel felt someone passing behind her to reach Chelsea, grabbing her by the waist and almost making her spill her drink.

“Oh my God Tom I almost spilled all of this on the girls” Chelsea screamed.

He apologized quickly, gave her a kiss and offered to get rid of their empty glasses.

“Are you okay?” Mel asked, seeing the annoyed look on her face.

“No… Yeah… I’m sorry about Tom, he’s – well he’s my boyfriend but we’ve been through a rough time and I didn’t expect him to be here.” she said and thought I hoped he wouldn’t be here.

Chelsea didn’t exactly know how or when it had started but for the last couple of weeks, things between her and Tom had been… different. They had been together for almost three years and known each other since grade school, but all of a sudden, they were unable to communicate with each other without fighting. That’s why she had hoped to have fun that night, trying not to think about the fact that she was considering the idea of breaking up.

“Don’t worry doll, we’re gonna make sure you have fun tonight.” Mary said “C’mon, let’s dance” and she dragged both of them on the dancing floor.

They danced a couple of songs, then the band announced the end of their set, so the girls decided to go for another drink.

“Go find a place we can sit, I’ll go get the drinks” Mel offered, and she made her way to the counter and ordered three more pints. She thanked the bartender and fumbled to keep all of them in her hands when suddenly someone bumped into her back and she lost grip of one of the glasses, pouring the drink on the floor and on the shirt of a guy next to her at the counter.

“Hey would you mind looking where you’re going?” she furiously said. But the person who hit her was already mixed with the crowd.

“What a jackass”

Mel turned around to meet the eyes of the person who just spoke and realized that was the guy she had spilled the beer on.

Her eyes widened as she said “I am so sorry for your shirt”

She grabbed some towels from the counter and added “Here let me help you”

“Don’t worry I was headed home anyway. My band just finished the set so that’s a wrap for tonight” he said jokingly

She grinned “Wait you were playing just now? You guys were good! What do you play?”

“I’m the bassist” he said smiling “It’s very kind of you, but I know we’re not that good” he chuckled.

“Well my brother’s in a band and they replace the bassist almost every two months because they’re all shitty and I was there every time… So trust me when I say that you are actually pretty good”

He flushed and quickly answered “Well in this case, thank you”

They were standing really close, while she was dabbing the towel on his shirt and when she looked up he was looking at her.

He smiled at her and she could feel her cheeks flush bright red, as she smiled back, thinking he had the most handsome smile she had ever seen.

She was brought back to reality by the new band coming up on stage and making the crowd cheer.

“I should go find my friends” she said picking up the pints

His smile vanished and he tried to hide the disappointment “Sure, I think I’ll head home anyway”

She saw him smiling slightly before she turned on her heels and headed towards the tables. She was still smiling when she sat beside Mary.

“How come you only have two?” she asked.

“Oh, well I didn’t feel like drinking another one all by myself” she shrugged her shoulders, restraining a smile.

“What are you all smiley about?” Chelsea asked smirking.

Mel couldn’t help but picture his smile again and chuckled “It’s nothing, I think a drank too much of that stuff, I feel all tipsy” before realizing she hadn’t even asked him what his name was.

Chelsea was not at all convinced, but she decided not to investigate.

She was startled by hand over her shoulder and when she looked up she saw Tom, who said: “We need to talk”

She got up, already knowing how this would have ended up, but decided to confront him once and for all.

“I’m all ears” she said when they distanced themselves enough from the crowd

“What’s going on Chel? You’ve been avoiding me for weeks”

“I’m not avoiding you… I just – I just need a bit of time”

“What for? Don’t you trust me enough to tell me what’s bothering you?”

It was always like that with Tom. Everything was about him. She was so sick of that.

“No, Tom, it’s not you” she snorted “I just think I need a bit of time to sort things out”

“What does that even mean? Are you telling me you want to break up?”

“NO! I didn’t say that! Christ Tom, you are always pushing my buttons!” she yelled, scoffing and rubbing her forehead. She continued calmer “Look, I love you, but you can’t deny we’ve been fighting a lot recently and seem to have lost the ability to communicate properly.”

He looked her dead serious in the eyes and she cautiously carried on “Don’t you think we need a break? I don’t mean breaking up.” She quickly added seeing the look on his face “I just think – carrying on with our lives trying to sort things on our own and then maybe-”

“Maybe what Chelsea?” he blurted out “Are you suggesting we see other people? Oh fuck, is there someone else?” he said running his hands in his hair “Please tell me it’s not John” he added pointing an accusatory finger at her.

“What? No Tom no! We are roommates but he’s my best friend and yours too by the way.” She replied, hurt by his insinuation.

“Tom there is no-one okay? I just want to be by myself for a while, God why can’t you understand that!”

“Well maybe you should stay on your own forever” he spat out “I’m done with this shit. Call me when you’re back being yourself Chel”

He said that with a poisonous tone however she couldn’t help but think he was right. He left, and she felt tears stinging her eyes. She had to get out of there: she bolted through the crowd excused herself with the girls and rushed out in the hallway before they could catch her.

All she wanted to do was scream from the top of her lungs she had had enough. As she walked rapidly towards the apartment where she hoped to find John’s comforting arms, tears started to stream down her face.

Chapters: | next ⤑

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nelrunari · 5 years

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❖ And the Dream calls: Aias Nym Qidove.

Character Name: Aias Nym Qidove

Pronouns: He/him

Age: In the mid/late 300s

Trigger Warnings: Mentions of violence, death, eye trauma, cults

Appearance:

Aias is short for a draakelf, but still a large 6’5 and very broad by elf terms. He looks about as strong as he is, for sure. He’s covered in little bronze scales, most visibly around the edges of the face and backs of the ears. Some, at this point have turned silvery, and some, black.

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/DuqVfHiUYAAUnOo.jpg:large

Personality:

The definition of a lawful good paladin, Aias is a gentle soul. He seeks to do whatever good he can, no matter how small the deed in the name of his own personal morals and those more justice-leaning of Bahamut. He believes deeply that there is a spark of good in everyone, and will almost to his and the other’s detriment, try to make them see and bring it out in them. Coming from a culture that was very touchy, he often misinterprets personal space allowances even hundreds of years later, but will respectfully back off if he’s made aware. He happily assumes the role of someone to give guidance or shelter to anyone and everyone. While he’s charming, and carries with him plenty of life experience, naked intelligence has never been his strong suit. He has something of a martyr complex, and will withhold information from a person or many people if he believes it could bring them harm, thinking it is up to him to carry all the burden thrown his way.

Positive: Forgiving, Sincere, Compassionate, Optimistic

Negative: Secretive, Overbearing, Trusting, Fearful

Background:

Born Nym Qidove, oldest of three, he lived on a secluded island of other dragon elves, kept secret from the main lands via magic and centuries of painfully careful secrecy. Aias could see that the power that ruled over the land, known to them only as The Order, had maybe just one or two bad apples among them, and since childhood, sought to become part of the guard to change this from the inside to protect his friends and family. But he was a skinny, weak little thing, unsuited even for the farm work of his family, and too clumsy to work with his father in crafting jewelry.

The day he was old enough, he joined the island guard, and consequently had quite the hard time. They sought to bring out a vicious fury from all their soldiers, but Aias had no unbridled anger in him, and one such attempt to wrest it from him very nearly lost him an eye, and scarred him deeply across the left of his face. He was dismissed and given a different job, “tax collecting”, in a sense, a conceptually low combative profession. After an incident that left him to paranoid to remain around his society any longer, he took the first chance he had to escape, and abandon everything to disappear into Faerûn with only a heavy, cruel looking greatsword he stole off one of the Order guards before fleeing.

Life on the mainlands was tough with no understanding of the common tongue, and it took him a few years and many kind holy souls to teach him the basics; sleeping in churches, in the stables of those who would hire him for a day’s labor, or occasionally on the streets. He made his way eventually to Kingscrest along the Sword Coast, and after many attempts and failures, was drawn into the crownsguard, the drive to protect never leaving him despite how deeply fearful he had become. He became the personal guard to the queen for many years, joining an adventuring crew for a time to confront a force of evil in that land before. During that time he learned to depend a little more on the people around him, and bolstered his bravery enough to, with a heavy heart, leave them behind in new pursuit of wrong-righting and getting stronger, planning to one day return Home and hopefully drive the evil force there out.

He was gathered in by another group that wandered around the country of Ælea to fight the good fight and search for possible ways to solve a problem he refused adamantly to talk about for a hundred long years. And the lot of them, who came and went, became known across the land as legends. At some late point in these years, the scars were removed from his face with magic and he felt a little less burdened by his past, growing brighter and more confident. Aias sought ways to as he would say “remove the curse” that had been placed on his people by weapons like that blackened sword he always kept wrapped up, and eventually brought it to a master smith who knew as much about weapon making as she did about magic. By her hammer and prayer the sword was whittled down and much of the dark magic it was filled with dispersed, leaving only a long blade, “made of the strangest platinum”, he was told. Over this time, he did meet members of the religion that had been practiced around Home, but only at a distance, and as subtly as he could, herded his friends and anyone who would listen away, avoiding any confrontation he could. Even a century later, even a mention of the Order made his knees shake. It was the two longest standing members of this group, two elves that granted him the adult name ‘Aias’ for his loyalty and devotion and he used it ever since. When finally the venture became too much for the final two in the party, Aias was left alone, and went north in search of other brave souls he found a large city in the heart of Ælea’s mountain range, Exaholde, to settle down in as a townsguard for what he hoped would only be a short while.

Over a decade, he rose through their ranks to become the captain of the western division, under only the general himself and beside 3 others. He took on one wild soul, someone he felt he could guide to a better state and after a few frustrating years of butting heads, slowly, quietly, fell for him. Although the relationship was only ever one sided romantically, they became very close friends. But it wouldn’t have mattered, he would not reveal more than surface level details of himself for fear of being found out by the wrong person and having the horror of Home brought here. This would cost him that friendship eventually.

Eventually came the news of an encroaching threat, a small but horribly devastating collection of people bearing crimson and black armor, all marked with the same symbol: a crying eye with a slit for a pupil between two scaled wings. The Order was here, and it was coming to Exaholde. For what he could not know, but would not run, not this time. They were many, but he, he was strong. In the ensuing battle in the south fields, he spent more of his time healing the fallen and begging them to run when it was almost immediately clear they were outmatched, including reviving a number of times, the fool he fell for. In a last grand stand, he and a powerful magic user of some ilk destroyed each other, and he was disintegrated. Finally, in death, he felt Bahamut’s touch, warm and gentle.

But it was not a peace meant to last. When his eyes inexplicably opened again, there he was, back Home. Weak. And he could remember nothing more than that. There was only a drow man and a handful of people that looked distantly familiar, all in crimson and black. He was fed lines about “helping” this place, that this island called Ea Asari needed his help specifically, for his connection to the platinum dragon. They insisted on training Aias, who had been graciously reminded that was his name, in the ways of barbarianism by hoping perilous, terrifying battles would bring out a primal rage, for reasons he did not understand. And slowly, as the months went by without success in finding this fury, this man who he only ever heard called Order Master became impatient. In a snap, quite literally, the memories flooded back and Aias stood dumbstruck. In that moment, he found his rage, and in it, fought through, strangely, no one as he slew the drow, who seemed nothing but pleased. Shortly after, he was descended upon by dozens of guards, and eventually put down. He could not harm these people, his own family in two cases, and could not for the last of the life left in him understand why any god could let all this happen.

Death was cold, this time. And dark. Five women, unseen but sounding all the same, spoke, saying she was glad to finally see him. “Even if,” she said. “it is for but a moment.” And as cold claws wraps around Aias, his eyes opened. And there he was. Alive. Again. But he had not any control over himself, his voice was not his own. Instead, it was someone else. Someone barely familiar. An attendant to whatever all this was spoke: “Welcome back, Order Master.”

Memento:

The Bell - A long, bright blade smelted from platinum scales that never chips or scratches, the handle seeming too long for a regular longsword. Struck upon the ground, it makes a sound like the clap of a church bell. The thing is exceptionally heavy to most anyone not connected to a good-aligned higher power. It used to be a very evil weapon, but it was reforged and tempered to be a pretty, if not now notably less powerful blade. He keeps it with him though it slowly siphons his life away every new moon, thinking he may be able to use it as an antidote for its own curse.

Natural Abilities:

Breathweapon: Can breathe a 30ft long line of lightning.

Darkvision: Able to see 60 ft ahead as if in bright light, in dim light and that far in darkness as dim light and are unable to discern colours.

Draconic Heritage: Resistance to lightning damage

Power History:

Aias is (was?) a level 15 paladin with his oath pledged to the crown, and a level 1 barbarian.

His too many skills and peek at the character sheet are here: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1ywkm9Pvm-yMEk-u00Uy4bQHuiO8Tx-YOh-gNaMId0l4/edit?usp=sharing

Extra:

Pinboard : https://www.pinterest.ca/Rennigan/nym/

Playlist: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/0XdsiGHpeMGeOLghWJGGWK?si=2inbtAKhRl6C0OLZM1E1ig

❖ Nelrunari Section ❖

Ward: Hallowtide

Player Tag: Here

❖ OOC Section ❖

Name/Alias: Rennigan/Ren

Contact: @ChronosAster on twitter

Age: 25

Pronouns: they/them , she/her

#nelru apps #pc ( rennigan )#char ( aias nym qidove )

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polyworth · 6 years

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hashimada au #0429384

Setting: a world just to the left of 1950's - 1960's Japan technology & aesthetic wise, still not Japan the same way the elemental countries aren't in canon. Particularly a small failing farming community at the base of a mountain.

Hashirama: a young farmer who's recently come back to inherit the family farm after spending time away studying in the city. Wanted to get away from his problems he'd developed (drinking, gambling, feeling miserable, not properly dealing with his adhd and trauma from childhood) and start fresh.

Madara: an old mountain spirit / god that's been scaring humans off of the mountain he guards for hundreds of years. He's raptor based--becomes more human like with positive emotion and monstrous with negative. Pretty deeply hates humans and while he doesn't go out of his way to curse the village near the base of his mountain, certainly isn't going to be blessing them any time soon. Cares for all the animals, preserves the mountain, etc.

Main plot: the village Hashirama moves to is slowly failing as a farming community, and he takes it (half intentionally) upon himself to try and fix that. There's a threat of businesses buying up their land & industrializing the area if they can't keep themselves afloat.

Hashirama does his best to try and help, but no one seems very optimistic. He learns about how there's supposed to be a god at the top of the mountain (or at least a shrine) and he sets his mind to climbing it to pray for the local god's blessing, because, why not? People warn him not to, that the mountain is dangerous and haunted, but Hashirama wont' really hear it since he's made up his mind already.

Cue Madara kind of marveling at the audacity of this human who's trying to climb his mountain, who keeps trying to reach the summit no matter what Madara throws his way. Lets Hashirama reach the top to hear him out and tries to scare the life out of him in person but Hashirama is just respectful and deferent and begs his pardon and mercy and blessing and even brought offerings. Madara tells him he'll humor his request so long as Hashirama makes this same trip to the top of the mountain once a week until the harvest moon. Hashirama is quick to agree and be grateful & Madara tells him to go away more or less.

Scenes: - Madara freaking out & embarrassed because WHY DID HE DO THAT WHY DID HE JUST INVITE THIS HUMAN TO HIS HOME??? HE SHOULD HAVE JUST SAID NO??? FUCK !

- their first meetings are Hashirama climbing the mountain and then Madara just being like congratulations go home now and Hashirama just like can't i like... sit down for a while? jeeze. And Madara like >:C no go away! this happens like 2 times and the third time hashirama just fucking doesn't & tells madara he's being a bad host and Madara does the god equivalent of Pouting And Sulking.

- After that their meetings consist of Madara trying to be casual like I have work to do & it wouldn't do to leave you here come on so Madara is subtly showing Hashirama his home. Lots of beautiful wonderful things, Hashirama in awe and Madara doing his Thing and just... madara liking being able to show off.

- Hashirama one time bringing a cassette player or crank radio and Madara trying really hard not to be obviously enamored by the music and demands hashbrown leave it as his offering & hashi laughs & sees through his bs by now

- The whole time things are steadily getting better in the village. Livestock are producing more and are generally more healthy, the crops are growing better, there's the right amount of rain and sun... Hashirama is really happy, Madara is dealing w/ the fact that he might be experiencing happiness w/ a human.

- They inevitably grow closer. Hashirama helps Madara with some wounded birds, Hashirama stays a night (not in the fun way), they dance... lots of tender moments. Hashirama is v in love and at some point they get a little TOO close and madara loses his damn mind (scared, mostly, upset about something that's kind of clearly not the situation exactly) and p much yells until Hashirama leaves, pretty heart broken.

- Hashirama is devastated the whole week until he has to visit again, doesn't really want to/ he doesn't want to upset Madara / cross boundaries but he did make a promise so he goes. Madara doesn't show up.

- getting very close to the harvest moon, Hashirama's next visit. Madara still doesn't' appear but Hashirama's less upset and is more worried now, goes looking around for Madara.... and finds him, big fucked up monster form, all kinds of beat to hell and hurt. Hashirama spends the next day or more taking care of him even tho Madara at first weakly was snapping at him & stuff. Madara comes to one night while Hashirama was out getting some water or smth, now in human form still bandaged up. They sit outside in the moonlight and Hashirama comments that he didn't think gods could be hurt like that. Madara, around his pipe and mildly like They can when they're fighting with other gods. Hashirama doesn't press but does say he's glad Madara is alright. Madara asks why he came back (why he still helped him) and Hashirama just saying he made a promise to a friend. Madara is very gay. They're quiet a while. Madara offers to pay Hashirama back for helping him (saving him) with a story.

- The story is about the village at the base of the mountain a very, very long time ago. There was a family there with five children and for a time they were happy. But the mother died along with three of the children, leaving only the father and two boys. The father was hard on his remaining sons, because without many hands to work the fields their mouths were burdens to feed. The elder brother took care of the younger as best he could, and even though they were hungry and had very little they found something like happiness again. That was until the village elders caught wind that a neighboring clan was trying to take land on the other side of their mountain, and had decided that they would make a way for no one but their own to prosper there... Someone needed to make a sacrifice. The father of the two boys offered up his youngest son, and while there were older volunteers who had lived their lives fully and were ready to leave the world, the elders chose the youngest brother as the one who would have the honor.

The elder brother begged their father not to allow this, begged his people to take him instead, but no one would listen. When the time for the sacrifice came at the summit of the mountain, the elder brother had decided to take matters into his own hands. With his father's knife he slit his own throat and willed his soul full of rage and pain to linger and attach to the mountain, to take root and destroy those who would harm his little brother before they could.

he was successful-- he had become a monster before they could make his brother one -- but he was too late.

He rid the mountain of the humans and in doing so made a decision to never allow another human to set foot upon his land without suffering for it. And he had successfully done so... for a very, very long time.

- quiet. Hashirama looks at Madara who is not looking at him and understands. He very gently touches Madara's hand and Madara doesn't flinch or pull away. Madara comments that in the end he was a useless brother and now he's become a useless god. Hashirama begs to differ, everything on the mountain flourishes under his care (his love) and.. also... there are people who are grateful for him, too. Madara gently tells him that it's late, and he's tired, and that Hashirama should go home in the morning.

- Hashirama gets Madara to come to the harvest festival (would be the last day / night Hashirama would have to visit. Hashirama insists it counts if he comes to 'pick Madara up'). Madara is ultra hesitant but accepts. it's a gorgeous night, they have a good time, Hashirama coaxes Madara to come home with him...............( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°) it's a good time all around.

- The next morning Hashirama wakes up (Madara is still there, sleeping in his bed. it's very surreal) and is extremely startled to see Tobirama in his house. "You should lock your doors, Anija. Anyone could have walked in here while you were asleep." Tobirama is here to pretty much try and bring Hashirama home back to the city, and comes across very certain that it was only a matter of time before Hashirama came back. (Tobirama isn't being cruel, he gave his brother space & was worried about him but he's had his space and he should come back home now, please.) They argue. there's a loud sound like a huge animal is trapped in his bedroom but when Hashirama rushes to check on Madara the window is open and Madara is gone.

- Finale: Hashirama goes back up the mountain facing similar challenges as he did the first time. Madara is obviously upset because he pretty much heard that Hashirama never intended to stay there (with him) and he's gone and made a fool of Madara. Hashirama with difficulty reaches the summit and there's yelling and whatnot and Madara feeling betrayed and Hashirama very desperately trying to get him to understand. Not sure exactly how but there is resolution (a promise and a kiss and a declaration of love perhaps?) and they finally just admit to each other that they love one another and that Hashirama isn't going anywhere.

- Bonus: Hashirama bringing human form Madara back home to a bewildered Tobirama like "Sorry for leaving in such a rush! Tobi this is my boyfriend Madara, we met here and that's why I have to stay."

happy ending!

#bee talks #bee talks nardo #hashimada #i did this because I will never be able to write that fic to satisfaction / completion so here's a notes version #i picture this as a very ghibli-esque sort of situation too #apologies to all the mobile users this one is a long one

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zippdementia · 3 years

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Part 93 Alignment May Vary: A Series of Side Quests

ALast time, I introduced the concept of how I’m handling the pre-final battle side quests, which will influence how that battle goes. I’m taking a lot of direction from the RPG Blades in the Dark for this, which I highly recommend as a must-read for any DM who wants to take their game to the next level. Even if you don’t end up playing Blades in the Dark, the way it presents how to run a satisfying game and how to keep your sessions focused on actions, obstacles, and consequences, is incredible reading. For these side quests, I’ve really drawn on its lessons a lot in order to keep the action focused and our story moving. If I didn’t, the five missions I’m going to cover in this post could have taken us months to play, as we explored dungeons, fought various combats, and had downtime between each quest. As it is, we do all five of these (plus the one from the last blog post) in a single large, six hour session. In that time, the players roll a ton of dice, but we don’t run a single combat... though they overcome many many obstacles along the way.

Here, then, is a brief rundown of each of our little “side quests.” This is a long post, so enjoy!

Dragonmeet

Argent, their bronze dragon ally, tells the PCs that they need the support of the dragon council if they are to fend off Abenthy. The PCs agree.

The journey from Waterdeep to the Nether Mountains is more than six hundred miles. For three days, Argent flies you north, passing overhead many signs of ruined cities and villages. No people remain, but neither is their undead or monsters. Abenthy’s influence is silently spreading, and as it does, it is erasing this world of life, leaving nothing behind.

Arriving at the Nether mountains, the PCs are given audience by the council of the great Metalic Dragons. This is a scenario lifted out of Tyranny of Dragons, in a nod to our original planned adventure, four years ago. But whereas in that campaign, there are specific things each dragon wants, here I leave the direction of the conversation more up to the PCs. All three of them make a plea, roleplaying out the conversation, with me playing the dragons. Milosh focuses on his life in Eberron, and the fact that dragons have disappeared from his world and their guidance is greatly missed. He fears Abenthy would see everything destroyed, them included. Carrick compares the dragons to Primus, in their greatness and glory, and says that in a way people are their creations and begs them to make the decision to protect life. Imoaza’s plea is full of regret for the path her people, the Yuan Ti, choose to follow, and says that the dragons are right to judge people not worth saving in the past. But she promises that if they are saved, she will make the effort worth it in the future.

These pleas move the dragons, and they agree to give aid, on one condition: that when the war is over, the Yuan Ti turn to worship of them, and follow a better path.

Imoaza agrees to do this, if she can wrest her people free of their current leader, her son, Xaxus.

An Icy Reception

The PCs decide they need the assistance of the Ice Barbarians in order to fight successfully in the frozen plains of Friezurazov. Also, they will not abandon them to slavery, which which be their fate if the PCs do not intervene.

Argent flies you across the Moon Sea, until you come across a line of Prison Ships. The moon shines down upon them, and upon the head ship, named The Re-Enlightenment, and captained by Gregor Tolman, whose great grandfather once captained The Enlightenment, lost at sea ages ago when it fell befoul of a plot involving the Red Hand. Among its final passengers were Shando, Daymos, and Karina...

The roll to set this quest up goes really well, so I actually cut out an encounter I had planned with the Tarasque, summoned into the ocean by Abenthy to destroy the Barbarians before the players can recruit them. Instead, the PCs reach the ships before Abenthy realizes they are going after the Barbarians, and so this encounter comes down to another roleplay moment, with the PCs having to convince Gregor Tolman to give over the Barbarians to their care.

To do this, I really enjoy the plan the players come up with. Imoaza poses as a haughty noble who says she represents Nakir, their noble ally from Waterdepp, and says he wishes to buy the slaves... all of them! With the help of some magic and good persuasion rolls, they convince the captain to turn the ships around and drop the Barbarians off at the old sea elf post, then go back to their sailing. Gregor is a little suspicious, but they play upon his fears of nobility and convince him not to get wrapped up in their political games. Believing he is in over his head, he follows orders and leaves.

The Ice Barbarians are secreted away in the forests around Waterdeep. Orcaheart, in particular, is overjoyed to have the chance to fight again alongside Milosh and promises that their final drive against Abenthy will “shake the very heavens.”

Death Pact

One character that the players are very concerned about is Verrick, the four-eyed Tiefling and former lover of Karina. He is a long long term NPC, and so the players have a personal connection to him. Also, he has become a Death Knight, under the control of Nazragul. While that control seemed to be broken at the Maakengorge, the news that he may be returning to Abenthy’s side is a concerning notion, as he is quite a deadly foe.

You catch up to Verrick at the ruins of Baldur’s Gate, where you find him sitting on a fallen statue, head in his hands. He looks up wildly as you approach and gets to his feet, waving a hand at you as if to push you away.

“Stay back,” he warns. “I do not know how much longer I have control of myself and I would not want to hurt friends of Karina’s.”

It is easy to convince Verrick to fight against Abenthy, but the problem is that Verrick is magically bound to Nazragul’s soul, and has a deep connection to Karina and Abenthy as well. With the three combined in one body, he is finding himself drawn back to fight for him.

Verrick says that, as a Death Knight, he is doomed to be bound to another’s soul until such time as all bounds are broken. Even death cannot stop him while his binder lives, he says. But if they can defeat him now, he will not reform for some time, and will not be able to fight against them in Friezurazov. He prepares to duel them...

... but the PCs have other ideas! I really like how the PCs solve this one. Milosh decides to try and unbind Verrick’s soul from Nazragul and bind it, instead, to himself, thus meeting the requirements of the Death Knight’s contract, while actually winning him over to their side for the final battle!

It requires Imoaza’s mastery of the weave to pull off, and carries a significant risk of killing Milosh, but in the end the players manage to roll through it, and Verrick’s soul, while not freed, is at least bound to the force he wishes to fight alongside.

The Wayward Daughter

This is a tricky one. Imoaza receives word that Hecate is being held at Spiral Tower, an underground fortress where the Yuan Ti torture and brainwash those who have “left the fold.” Hecate’s treachery has been discovered, and she is about to go through a re-education program to make her, once and for all, a thrall of her brother, Xaxus.

Imoaza’s thoughts turned to the daughter whom she had abandoned so many years ago, and who had spent so long trying to kill her. Their reconciliation on the Abyssal plane had changed both of them and Imoaza felt that if she did not save her daughter from the clutches of the Yuan Ti now, they would be forced to face each other one final time on the battlefield, and this time one would not walk away.

This mission goes wrong from the start. A bad set up roll means I actually add in an extra challenge. Argent is flying them to Spiral Tower when he is spotted by the magical sensors of the Yuan Ti. A magical storm immediately forms to swallow the dragon and Argent has to abandon the mission. The PCs use the fly spell to drop from his back, fly through the storm, and land in the forest that grows above Spiral Tower.

They waste no time in quickly preparing their plan. This is a bit of a heist mission, involving teleportation magic. Carrick and Imoaza are going to be teleported by Milosh to a precise location in the tower, where Hecate is being held, and then try to get her out. Anyone who knows teleportation rules knows there is a huge risk here: Milosh has never seen the inside of the tower, and is forced to operate off of what Imoaza can describe to him. This leads to some tense rolls, which could result in an instant death scenario for the PCs if they fail. They do not fail, however, and Carrick and Imoaza reach Hecate’s chamber via portal.

Their time is short. Carrick begins dispelling the magic that is rewriting Hecate’s personality and thankfully the process is not far enough along to have changed her, yet. Hecate comes up with a daring plan. Rather than leave with Imoaza, she suggests that she stay behind and pretend to have been indoctrinated. Then, when the moment is right, in the final battle she will turn and strike Xaxus down.

Imoaza agrees, and tells Hecate, too, of her plan to join the Yuan Ti to the worship of the dragons. She says to start spreading the word of the dragons through the Yuan Ti as subtly as Hecate can, so that the Yuan Ti begin to believe the Dragons are their true saviors. Her hope is that when the dragons arrive on the battlefield, it throws the Yuan Ti forces into disarray and opens up a path to Xaxus.

Imoaza half expects Hecate to question this new direction for the Yuan Ti, but Hecate says that Imoaza will always be her leader and will be trusted in all things. Then she tells them to go, before Milosh is discovered. As they leave through the portal, Imoaza finds herself concerned for the first time in her life with the safety of a family member, and finds the emotion both beautiful and strange.

The Wizards of Thay

The final side quest involves finding Daymos and helping him recover Jade’s soul. The roll on this one is not great, and so the PCs find no trace of the psychic-turned Quasit. However, they do learn that Jade, as a Lich, had a phylactery, and that she was aided in making it by the Red Wizards of Thay. Nazragul forced her into this path so that he could more easily take over her body and make use of it, and the Red Wizards were only too happy to help in exchange for some of his knowledge and power.

When Nazragul was exorcised from Jade’s body, she died, but her soul went to her phylactery, while Nazragul merged with Abenthy and Karina. That phylactery is now with the Red Wizards.

Thay is an isolated and arid windswept plateau some twenty-five hundred miles east of Waterdeep, its dark skies constantly clouded by volcanic ash. This land is defined by the prevalence of undead within its borders. The supreme leader of Thay is the lich Szass Tam, whose council of advisers-the zulkirs-are powerful liches themselves. Everyone of consequence in Thay is a spellcaster, and necromancers are common there. Undead servants are everywhere, and many of the commanders in Thay's armies are the free-thinking undead soldiers.

This is another scenario lifted more or less from Tyranny of Dragons, though it is a little simpler than presented there. Rather than have to win over the Red Wizards, the PCs simply have to offer them something that is worth the return of Jade’s soul. The PCs also learn that the Red Wizards are holding Daymos captive, for he came to them and tried to force them to release Jade. The PCs end up negotiating for both of their souls. The price ends up being twofold. One, they must stay the night in Thay. This seems like an odd request, but the PCs agree to it tentatively. Two, they must give them an item of great power.

At first, the party thinks that what they should give over are spells of Haggemoth. However, while a tempting appetizer, the Thay wizards say that it is not enough. So the PCs keep the spells and look for something else. That is when Milosh suggests, though not without sadness, that they give up Lhu-Ee, the painting gnome that Haggemoth created, and who has traveled with them since the tomb.

It is an acceptable trade: the Thay wizards are fascinated by the notion of what is essentially a living, thinking phylactery. It is a surprisingly sad moment for the -players. Though Lhu-Ee has barely had a roll in the campaign, I played him with a lot of personality, and the players felt good about saving him from Haggemoth’s lair and from the Mummer. He made a bigger impression than I thought he would and so the moment becomes a solemn one as they hand him over to the wizards. The wizards say they will begin work on the brother and sister immediately, and Lhu-Ee bids the PCs farewell, saying that no matter what happens next, he will always love them for having given him freedom, even if it couldn’t last.

Only that night does the first gift the wizards ask for really show its purpose. As the PCs fall into a deep sleep, the wizards try to infiltrate their minds and draw forth the secrets they harbor. They are powerful secrets: Imoaza is a master of the weave. Carrick has all the knowledge of the Surveyor. Milosh is from another world. They come close to cracking Milosh, who has more self doubt than the others and is really struggling with what his purpose in life should be, but ultimately all the PCs fight them off through willpower and good roleplaying, and none of them remember the night’s events afterwards. The wizards may be sneaky, but they are not necessarily dishonorable. They recognize that they had their chance to garner secrets from the PCs and it is their own faults they failed. So they consider the deal done and turn over Daymos and Jade, their bodies restored.

The brother and sister, who have been in this campaign since it’s very first session, shed tears and greet the PCs like family, saying that they will lend their phenomenal powers to winning this war. Daymos also has one more surprise: to rebuild his body, the wizards had to put someone else in the Quasit. They choose Reeves Sar Testain, whose soul had been carried with Daymos from the Abyss, ever since Esheballa’s game. So now Daymos and Jade also travel with the reborn Testain, in Quasit form.

The Siege of Waterdeep

The side quests are ended, but there is one final event before the last battle. The PCs are called back to Waterdeep by Nakir, who says that it is time to reveal the Blackstaff. They all travel with Breathgiver and the real Blackstaff to the middle of the city, where Nakir has asked several of the Lords and many citizens to gather, on the pretense of a grand announcement. However, before they can make their announcement, diaster strikes. Vindass Lanteral crashes the gathering with the army of Waterdeep and says he has come to arrest Nakir and the PCs as traitors. The PCs prepare to face him down, when alarms break out all over the city. A great beast is emerging from the harbor. It is the Tarrasque, and it comes to bring Abenthy’s wrath to the city.

This is a big battle scene, with a lot going on. Breathgiver tells everyone that she can defend the city with the Blackstaff, but they must protect her. So Imoaza, Carrick, and Milosh stand guard while familiar ethereal tentacles erupt all over the city, sucking the life from its citizens. Breathgiver enters a trance and everyone hears a loud crash coming from all over the city.

Waterdeep, one of the wonders of the civilized world, contains wonders of its own. Undermountain, the Tower of Light... many argue for fun over what the wonders truly are. But the oldest citizens of Waterdeep say there are eight wonders, and all of them are statues. The Walking Statues are behemoth statues, said to have appeared out of the ethereal plane as guardians for Waterdeep, controllable only by he or she who wields the blackstaff.

Since I first read about Waterdeep as a child, I’ve wanted to do something with the Walking Statues. Now I get my chance. Breathgiver awakens the statues and I give the players control of three of them, as the Tarasque emerges like Godzilla from the docks and begins wreaking havoc on the city. Three statues converge on it and the players get to have what is essentially a giant Mech fight. The Hawkman, the Swordmaiden, and the Godcatcher all come forward to face the Tarasque and protect Waterdeep. This becomes a tremendous fight, with the Tarasque laying into the statues and bringing down the Hawkman and the Swordmaiden before the Godcatcher grabs it by the tail and, much like Mario swinging Bowser in Mario 64, spins the Tarasque through several buildings and out to sea, where it crashes into a nearby island and falls, unconscious into the ocean.

While all this has been going on, Milosh has been pulled into the Ehtereal world by the tentacles. Imoaza tries to grab him out, but she fails and is left with severely burned arms, that will remain black for the rest of her life. Desperately, Milosh calls upon his powers to teleport him back to the city... only, he doesn’t quite make it.

A Pocket Dimension

Milosh finds himself in, of all places, a brothel. It is being run by a strange man wearing all red, who is shocked, but not unhappy to have a customer. A few questions later, the group realizes this is Immerstal the Red, old party buddy of Aldric, who the group last saw on board the Surveyor’s ship, before he was sucked back into his pocket brothel.

Honestly, this scene is totally unplanned. I didn’t think Milosh would end up in the Ethereal but once he was there, someone (I can’t recall who had the idea, myself or one of the players) mentions our old NPC, Immerstal the Red, and it just was too perfect to not bring him back into the game.

Immerstal reveals he knew Aldric, and is shocked and saddened to hear of his passing. But he doesn’t seem that interested in returning to Faerun. Things are simpler in his pocket brothel, after all, and he is not sure it is wise to bring himself back to a world which, by all accounts, is about to be eradicated.

"Anyway,” he says, “they should just throw Immerstal’s old Fireball spells at the brute. That will show him.”

“The what now?” Milosh asks.

Immerstal blinks in surprise. “You haven’t heard of Immerstal’s mighty Fireblast?”

It turns out there’s a lot of Immerstal stuff that people haven’t heard of, or have forgotten. Sensing a weakness, Milosh plays this up, saying it’s too bad Immerstal won’t be coming back to remind the world who he was. Too bad history will forget him. This finally pushes Immerstal over the edge and he begins packing a bag, and pulls Milosh with him through a portal back to Waterdeep.

Wrapping up Waterdeep

A few final things wrap up our time in Waterdeep and prepare us for the final two sessions of our RPG. In the days that follow, It is revealed that Vindass Lanteral has fled the city, his fake Blackstaff broken. He is out of our game, and never does make a reappearance, at least not in our tales.

With the former blackstaff fled, Waterdeep is in political confusion, but they rally around Breathgiver, the new and true Blackstaff. She immediately declares an end to the shadow lords of Waterdeep and says that from now on, Waterdeep will no longer have lords, but instead shall be led by a council of people from every walk of life, and the Blackstaff shall preside over the council with the wisdom of all its ancient holders. Even as she proclaims this, word comes from the city gates that the other members of the Alliance, including the refugees from Baldur’s Gate, have heard of the Tarasque’s defeat and have arrived to offer their strength in the fight to come.

There is not much time to celebrate or rebuild. The PCs need to get to Friezurazov and face Abenthy before he can revive the Tarasque. However, in the Tarasque’s attack, Waterdeep’s massive fleet was all but destroyed, and the PCs have only Argent to carry them to battle. The armies of Waterdeep cannot follow. It is a devastating blow, for alone they cannot hope to survive and bypass Abenthy’s army.

But then hope arrives from an entirely unlooked for place. A fleet of elven ships is spotted on the horizon. When they land, it is revealed to be the fleet of the Wood Elves of the Sword Coast, led by an old elf named Feluver. He is the brother of Trakki, our PC from many campaigns ago, who was lost during the Red Hand saga. Feluver says that for the first time in many years he had a prophetic dream, and in it Trakki told him to sail his ships to Waterdeep and prepare to fight that evil which had corrupted Trakki’s soul before he passed.

This, then, is the answer to how the armies will make it to Friezurazov, how they will bring the strength to stand against Abenthy, his undead and Yuan Ti, and whatever other defenses he has. This, then, is the true beginning of the end.

Next time, our penultimate session, A Clashing of Fates.

#Immerstal the Red #DND 5e #Campaign Journal #Alignment May Vary #Karina #Waterdeep #Statues of Waterdeep #Blackstaff #Tyranny of Dragons #Dungeons & Dragons #Yuan Ti

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dmoftheapocalypse · 7 years

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ToA Campaign Character Introductions!

Hello all!

My players and I have recently begun a new campaign and plan on using Tomb of Annihilation once it comes out (aka at the time of writing this I just got it a week early yay lol and then we're a week late finishing this one shot bc of events going on...sighhh)

I’ve done our first Campaign Diary and you can find it on my page and I'll be using (surprise surprise) the hastage “campaign diary” as well as “toa” once we start the actual book! But I figured I should introduce our characters:

Our party consists of 5 adventurers (two less than I’m actually used to lol);

The Avariel Druid, Solaris:

At a young age Solaris and her twin sister, Sheena, had quite the knack for the elemental magics and beast shaping abilities. Being born in the Misty Isles, an Avariel city in the sky, this lead to them both quickly being trained to become the next to rule the city. Being twins Solaris was picked to become the next head Priestess while Sheena was to be crowned as Queen. Though things did not go quite as planned, years went by and Sheena was convicted of treachery and was therefore banished and sentenced to death. With her wings ripped from her back she was pushed off the flying city to the ground and never seen or heard from again. Solaris was heart broken that her sister could have done something so bad that they did what they did. Many years went by and Solaris focused intently on her training and endless studies in a way to cope from her sister's violent death, but it was always in the back of her mind never quite going away that her sister could never do what they said she did and that maybe something more was at hand.

With her studies and training finished she must now embark on a journey to the surface as a final trail to becoming the next head Priestess. A mission of diplomacy and leadership, to learn about the world and how to gain the hearts and minds of the many. To help change it for the better and return to tell the tale. Which is most convenient for a girl who discovered that they never checked to see if her sister's body was really there and in naive hope she's set on finding her lost sister and discover the truth.

The Halfling Bard, Isabele:

Once a member of a large seafaring boat with a loving family from all over the world, now part of a mercenary group trying to get back to her Glory days. Not that many years ago Isabele a small but fearless seafarer was in love with waking up on the sea and falling asleep to the rhythmic movements of the waves hitting the boat. She used to sing songs to improve moral, and be able to speak her mind with no rules over her head except for whatever everyone else had. But one day they came into the path of pirates, not just any pirates but the crazed and ruthless kind, two ships seemingly came out of nowhere and they became boxed in and attacked from both sides. These creatures killed everyone and everything, including the boat but decided to take her; that was their first mistake. She was used as a way to... entertain the pirates and hounded with restrictions and rules. Eventually she got good at this and was able to get her way subtly until they finally got close enough to land where she took her chances in the sea. Allowing her to escape was their second biggest mistake they could have made.

Now she has been traveling as part of a free company gaining money and friends throughout the past few years. She hopes that those pirates will make their third and final mistake in their lives and show up around her. Because if they do, they surely wouldn't be surviving to leave, unlike them where she was spared she would not make that mistake with these horrible creatures. She also hopes to get back on the open ocean on a ship and a have such a close crew again...just like the golden days of her life.

(@dargon899)

The Dwarf Warlock, Banthok Goldbrew:

Banthok started as a simple cook serving in a long Dwarven war known as the Dark Wars, with the Duergar and Drow alike, underground. Throughout his years of service many great memories were made as well as a daughter, but many hardships followed as well. Just like any war there were good and bad times, some of the bad times have directed Banthok’s course of life drastically. 10 years after the birth of his daughter, Vestra, his wife, Duma, fell in battle leaving him and his daughter to survive together. Years later forces struck the camp, his daughter and him were located, in a rush of fight for his life as well looking for Vestra, Banthok did such an amazing job he was finally drafted into the fight. After being properly trained and gaining friends on the way he eventually raised in ranks and became a leader of his own squad. Not long after he found himself in yet another terrible battle where he nearly fell, yet something happened to him that day, someone, or something, came to him about a deal to get himself and his squad members out alive. Forever burned into his memory of this decision that changed his life forever he took it, and because it Banthok and 17 out of 24 of the squad survived the battle.

Little did he know that this decision had more to it than expected. Eighteen months went by as the newly named Dwarlock squad cut through enemy forces with no more losses to their squad. But once home he found a note for him telling him that the debt of the deal he made was collected signed ‘The Lord of the First’. His daughter…was gone. With the help of his squad mates he escaped the Underdark and began his desperate search for Vestra on the surface.

The Firbolg Mystic, Tytus:

Found as a child by what seemed like fate, Tytus grew up in a secluded monastery with his human father in the middle of a forest. His father had found him one night by complete chance wrapped loosely covered in dirt and twigs; taking it as a sign from the cosmos the monk took the child and raised it as his own. For the past 60 years this is where he has lived and trained in the ways of tranquility. Living unsure of who he truly was as his father, nor himself knew, he has be a large mystery gaining abilities of not only nature but of the Far Realm as well.

Now after the passing of his adopted father, Tytus named by his father after the elvish word meaning Fate, has decided to seek out his history and find where his origin lies and perhaps write some new stories while finding the truth of his beginning.

The Gnome Artificer, Noye Bypple:

For as long as Noye can remember she had been under the tutelage of an old human inventor named Wallace Greenslade. Learning from him how to make creations both with physical components and magic. As the years went and her mentor got older the inevitable was happening, Wallace was dying. There had be jokes about this day for many, many years, jokes that Wallace would die and Noye would take over his ever growing business as if she was his heir to it all. But when it finally came down to it Noye wasn't so sure she wanted to, while she loved being with her mentor and everything she has learned with him as well when he finally did come to his death bed she didn't know if she could accept the business.

As the week went by after his death Noye was still so unsure about owning such a business, wanting to go out and see the world. Nearing the end of the week a rumor came to her ears, someone she had met long ago, someone who was curious about the Thunder Canon she had built years back and to which she helped him build his own. He was heard to be hurt, badly, very badly; to the point the people that told her was unsure if he was alive anymore. So with that she closed up Mr. Greenslade's shop, for good this time. She knew she would live for a few hundred years but decided she wanted to see the world and not miss any of it. She would help those around the world with the inventions that were sold by her and Mr. Greenslade's and if possible find and help the one she heard about, maybe even others out there as well.

(@ominouswalrus)

Enjoy our adventure! ⭐

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koragame · 5 years

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Artifact Review - Analytical Adventure Valve’s Artifact was announced to mixed reactions at the Dota 2 International tournament in 2017. Artifact apparently signaled Valve’s return to active game development, but it is different from the studio’s signature series like Half-Life and Portal. Instead, Artifact is a card game set in the world of Dota, and it is designed by Richard Garfield, the creator of Magic: The Gathering. While Artifact is different from Dota 2’s team-based gameplay, much of the flavor and mechanics translate well into the three-lane game. If there’s one big similarity between the two Valve titles, it’s that some time and dedication are required to learning, understanding, and enjoying the game. The easiest way to explain Artifact is that you’re playing three different games simultaneously with a single hand, and you need to use those cards to win two out of the three games (or win one of the games twice). Success is all about management and position; you need to make hundreds of decisions in a single game on both micro and macro levels. It’s overwhelming at first, but after many hours of play and mastery of the systems at work, the satisfaction of executing a perfectly timed game-winning move is immense. On the surface, Artifact appears to be a tangled web of randomness with so many aspects being left to chance, but corralling those variables and subtly working with the tide of each game creates an atmosphere unlike any other digital card game. Everything hinges on your heroes. Your deck must contain five heroes, and they come with associated cards (Dota fans will recognize flavorful skills and abilities, but no previous Dota experience is required). These cards play well with the hero's stats and passive or active skill. For instance, one of the most powerful heroes in the game, Axe, doesn’t even have a passive. Axe is just a big pile of stats. As a red hero, Axe loves to fight and is more than a match for other heroes and creeps, so this is exactly where you want him, pummeling enemies into submission in direct combat with superior size. The other three colors all have their own specialties as well. Black focuses on gold acquisition, mobility, and assassination. Green has huge monster creeps available, huge health pools, and helpful buffs. Blue has frail heroes, but extremely impactful magic spells. You’re free to mix and match heroes and colors, but you can only play cards of a color in a lane with a corresponding color hero, so getting too bold could result in difficulty playing cards where you want. Not only are you laying down creatures to attack your opponent and heroes and push the lanes, but you also gather gold from killing enemies. You spend this gold in the shop at the end of each round to buy various equipment that roughly falls into three categories: weapons, armor, and consumables. Just like in Dota, you want to have plenty of potions and town portal scrolls to keep your heroes healthy and moving to where they need to be. Big items can change the course of the game, but saving enough money to get them can be a losing strategy, as your opponent can dominate the board while you save. Once you’re past the basics, higher levels of play open games within games, where bluffing and taking full advantage of initiative (who plays first in a lane) create game-defining big plays that can feel as epic as an Earthshaker Echoslam in Dota 2. If you’re willing to put in the time and effort, you’re rewarded with tons of satisfying gameplay. When is the right time to abandon a lane? Should you go all in on one lane or try to win two lanes? Should you commit heroes to defending a dead lane, and if so how many? Should you pass your turn to attempt to grab initiative back so you can make sure you have the first action during the next round? You’re going to be making an absurd number of choices, and they won’t always be right. As a longtime card game enthusiast, being faced with situations where there isn’t a definitive correct play is highly entertaining. Constructed play takes a backseat to draft with the initial launch set. The metagame is already well established, and while things could change, powerful “best in every deck” heroes offer little flexibility in deckbuilding or room for creativity. Draft is another story, and is the best format available, allowing players to pick two cards out of packs until they create a full deck and take it into a string of battles. I hope the constructed format becomes more interesting as new heroes come into the game, but for now draft absolutely puts it to shame. Players can play in free events with preconstructed Valve decks, free constructed/drafts with friends or random global players, and paid tournaments. Unlike many other digital card games, currently there are no progression systems or ways to earn cards outside of purchase. All trades are made on the Steam market via buying and selling, so you can pick up exactly what you’re looking for, but you won’t be getting any free cards if you’re looking to build a collection. In this way Artifact feels like it’s hampered by an archaic physical card game model in the digital realm. While it’s not explicitly pay-to-win, it’s absolutely pay-to-compete and collect, and this feels restrictive – especially since you’re already paying a fee to purchase the game initially. Much can be said about psychological hooks that other digital card games employ to keep people playing and “grinding” but at least there’s an option to acquire cards slowly in those models. Here, you’re paying to engage in anything meaningful. Period. And it doesn’t feel good. Artifact pulls a ton of flavor from Dota 2, but it’s not necessarily a game for Dota 2 players. Artifact is instead a highly cerebral card game of push and pull, with intense resource allocation and randomization management. Artifact is absolutely not for everyone, but it excels at creating a crazy strategy cocktail pulling from every bottle on the shelf. For card game fans, Artifact is not to be missed. Source by [author_name] #games #gamer #gaming #game #play #koragame #freegames #onlinegames

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netunleashed-blog · 6 years

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The 30 best indie games on PC and consoles

http://www.internetunleashed.co.uk/?p=31380 The 30 best indie games on PC and consoles - http://www.internetunleashed.co.uk/?p=31380 Year after year, gaming continues to evolve, and our standards for the best indie games with it. One of the most exciting things about the best indie games these days is that unlike major game publishers, who feel the need to subsidize their releases with all kinds of shady monetization schemes – the best indie games are inexpensive and free of malevolent tactics. Free of corporate influence, the best indie games will give you a glimpse into the pure artistic vision of the developers, especially if you have one of the best gaming PCs.However, that’s not to say the best indie games can’t trade blows with the newest Assassin’s Creed or Call of Duty. In fact, the best indie games regularly surpass the latest AAA games in both quality and scope, thanks to their less repetitive nature – they don’t need to rely on tired cliches and tropes to sell through millions of units.With this list, we culled through the hundreds (maybe even thousands) of indie games we’ve played and ranked the 30 best indie games you can play today – only the best of the best have made it. We mixed in classics like Braid and Dwarf Fortress, with modern indie darlings like Hollow Knight and Night in the Woods. To discover all the best indie games that made our list, read on! Linux, Windows or Mac - which one is best for you? Watch our guide video below: Joe Osborne, Kane Fulton and Gabe Carey have also contributed to this article Described as a sort of combination of Pokémon, Harvest Moon and Animal Crossing, we couldn’t help but recommend that you keep your eye on Ooblets until it releases at some point in 2018. This indie game is being developed by first-time studio Glumberland with the backing of the beloved Double Fine studios. The art style here curiously reminds us of Adventure Time. However, the game itself revolves around collecting creatures called ooblets in a town called, well, Oob. Upon doing so, you’ll be able to train and battle your ooblets against other ooblet trainers. At the same time, you’ll have to balance your ooblet training with the real-world responsibilities of being a farmer. That’s right, drawing influence from the likes of Stardew Valley, you can cultivate produce and decorate your house with various trimmings as well. You’ll also be able to join an Ooblet Club comprised of friends (NPCs) you’ll meet along the way. If you don’t know what to do in Ooblets, simply walk around and discover new shops and buildings that suit your interest. While you’re at it, you can open up your own shop and sell produce that you’ve grown on the farm in addition to items you’ve scavenged from throughout the world. Otherwise, you can feed the leftover crops to your ooblets to watch them level up and learn new techniques to be used in the turn-based RPG-style battles.Expected: 2018 Jonathan Blow's masterpiece first appears to be a simple pastiche of Super Mario Bros, with a middle-aged curmudgeon replacing the titular plumber but still seeking to rescue a princess.But, the longer you spend in the game, the more that’s revealed to you, moving from a series of time-bending puzzles to quiet reflective texts – which doesn’t stop it from being the smartest puzzle game until SpaceChem. Blow himself has subtly hinted that the ultimate story may revolve around the atomic bomb. First released as PC freeware by Japanese designer Daisuke "Pixel" Amaya back in 2004 after five years of 100% solo development, Cave Story predates the recent indie renaissance by a few years. Because of when and how it was first released, it's often forgotten in discussions of indie gaming.But this classic deserves to be on every best-of list for its loving homage to the classic action platforming games of the Super Nintendo era, its incredible music and its incredibly vibrant world. Oh, and don't forget the hugely intuitive controls, gobs of secrets and weapons that are entirely too fun to use. If you've yet to enjoy this one, just put it on your backlog already. From family-owned and operated Studio MDHR, Cuphead has connected with millions of people around the world, many of whom normally wouldn’t touch a run-and-gun platformer with a ten-foot pole. Although its gameplay was inspired by classic games like Mega Man and Contra, most gamers would likely compare it to a Fleischer Studios cartoon, like Betty Boop. Because Cpuhead utilizes a hand-drawn art style likened to a 1930s animation, it’s been universally praised for its gorgeous visuals.Its beauty is more than skin deep, though, Cuphead is a challenging and engaging series of 19 boss fights, with actual levels taking place between them. And, if that’s not enough, Studio MDHR has announced the Cuphead: The Delicious Last Course DLC, with a new isle to explore, new bosses to conquer and, most importantly, a new playable character. Many AAA games serve as escapist power fantasies, where the player is ultimately able to dominate the game’s universe – right up until the game ends. However, many indie games serve as the opposite – like the IGF award winner and misery simulator Cart Life.Papers Please is similar to Cart Life – it's also an IGF winner with elements of misery about it - but it's better, being a smart, weird sim about the compromised life of a border guard under a totalitarian regime. It's ugly and desperate, but also innovative, uproariously funny and terribly smart. Among the hardcore gamers of my acquaintance, Spelunky is the go-to drug. Even today, several years after its release, some of them still play it every day, despite having completed it many times over. That's because Spelunky, an ostensibly rogue-like platformer with a definite end, is tough, varied and highly randomized.It also has more dark secrets than a presidential candidate, meaning there are many, many ways to finish it, and its daily challenges are a sure-fire way to public humiliation. Unfortunately, humor is often missing among games, mostly being restricted to slapstick comedy or crude one-liners. The Stanley Parable, however, is hilarious without being dumbed down. Players follow (or don’t) a very British narrator who changes the world around you, depending on your decisions.No decision is punished, every play-through throws up new humor and weirdness. Being trapped in the closet in the Stanley Parable is more moving and funny than 9/10 of other games. Further reading: Retro-me-do! Digitiser's Mr Biffo on his top PC games of all time It took more than nine years to make, but Owlboy was definitely worth the wait. Originally contrived for PCs and released in late 20166, the clever masterpiece of an indie game is now available to experience on Mac and Linux as well – and there’s even a Nintendo Switch version! Owlboy centers around a race of owl-human hybrid characters called, well, Owls. Of them, you control Otis, an Owl who is censured by his mentor for his inept flying skills.The story sees Otis’ village dismantled by pirates who clearly have conflict with the Owls. As a result, Otis has to work with an assortment of villagers in-game to take out enemies. Of course, when boss battles arise, you’ll need to manage allies accordingly, as each character comes with their own set of unique skill sets to use in conjunction with one another. If you’ve ever played and enjoyed a Kid Icarus game, this is one for the books. Otherwise, play it anyway. Similar to The Stanley Parable, Gone Home falls into the unofficially labeled ‘walking simulator’ genre. Where it diverts from the clever and philosophical Stanley Parable, however is its focus on life’s difficult realities, instead of light humor.After getting home from a stay overseas, you play as 21-year-old Kaitlin Greenbriar who is greeted by a vacant residency. While gameplay in Gone Home is mainly limited to scavenging through notes to find out where the protagonist's family has ventured off to, the gripping story exhibits a rollercoaster of emotions, if you keep an open mind. Only SpaceChem has mingled education with entertainment as successfully as The Kerbal Space Program. The game is simple - design and build spacecraft to take the cutesy Kerbals to the Mun and beyond.Yet its focused use of real physics means that you'll find yourself following NASA in building multi-stage rockets, space stations and exploring the Kerbal's strange universe on EVAs, before bringing your discoveries back to research on the Kerbal planet - that's if you can get off the ground at all. It's a huge, complex, challenging and fun game, that's smart without being preachy. The exact opposite of the Kerbal Space Program, The Binding of Isaac is an action roguelike par excellence. Matched only by the equally visceral Nuclear Throne for replayability, you play as a young boy attempting to kill his damned siblings, his Mom, and possibly the Devil, using only his tears. Which he shoots from his eyes, of course.With hundreds of weird modifiers to discover, endlessly touch procedurally-generated levels, and secrets galore, Isaac is a very dark take on the exploratory model established by Spelunky. Though you might get put off by the pixel art graphics, Undertale isn’t a game that would have fit on the Super Nintendo. That’s because, in Undertale, you decisions make a huge difference in how the game ends and, more importantly, how it continues in New Game Plus.While you play Undertale, one of the first things you’ll start to realize is the sheer freedom the game affords you. Despite its genius boss matches, you can make it through the entire nine or so hours of Undertale without killing a soul. Plus, when you go through the game a second time, you’ll bear the weight of the consequences from your previous run. Plus, now that Undertale is coming to the Nintendo Switch later this year, you’ll be able to take this genius piece of game design wherever you go. From developer Playdead, Inside is comparable to its predecessor, Limbo, in some ways but with an added layer of depth that inspires frequent wonder. This is mostly a result of the unspoken narrative, which revolves around yet another nameless boy. In Inside, however, the boy in the story is running away from a group of men who – if you fail to stay out of their sights – will try to mercilessly kill you.Though it isn't quite clear why the boy is running from these men or why you should even care since you don't know who he is, Inside will leave you begging for answers. The bleak, lifeless setting of Inside is more than worth the price of admission. Its minimalist art style alone is avant-garde enough to feel right at home in a museum. Add in a game that's both fun to play and dripping with curiosity, though, and Inside is one of the best indie games money can buy. Developed single-handedly by Eric Barone, Stardew Valley is undoubtedly a technical feat for that little facet alone. If you’ve ever played a Harvest Moon game, you’re already familiar with the premise of Stardew Valley – you may just not know it yet. Stardew Valley is an addictive farming simulator which sees you interact with townees to the point where you can literally marry them.Stardew Valley isn’t just farming, though – it’s a whole bunch of things at the same time. You can go fishing, you can cook, you can craft stuff – you can even go explore procedurally-generated caves to mine for items and even attack slime-monster-things. However, you should keep in mind that your health and energy are finite, so you'll want to keep your character rested and fed to avoid suffering from exhaustion. Pass out and you’ll lose a considerable amount of money and items you’ve worked hard to attain. Stardew Valley will have you addicted for hours on end, for better or worse. (Definitely better.) From Canadian game developer Alec Holowka, the creator of the award-winning Aquaria (also featured on this list) and independent artist/animator Scott Benson, Night in the Woods is an unconventional side-scrolling adventure game centering around a 20-year-old protagonist named Mae who drops out of college to move back in with her parents.Featuring a story largely based around dialog choices and mini games that put a spin on mundane tasks, like carrying boxes up the stairs and eating perogies, Night in the Woods is a timeless coming-of-age tale. Not only will you experience middle class America through the eyes of a personified cat, but virtually every interaction in-game will have you laughing aloud. And now that it’s coming to the Nintendo Switch on February 1, you’ll be able to take it wherever you go. If you’re a fan of the recent wave of games inspired by Dark Souls, you’ll absolutely love Hollow Knight. You take control of the Hollow Knight, and lead them through the deceptively adorable landscape to take on bosses and other difficult challenges. Much like Dark Souls, it’s not immediately clear what you’re actually supposed to be doing as the narrative is intentionally obtuse. The Dark Souls inspirations don’t end there, however. It also adopts Dark Souls’ ‘tough but fair’ philosophy, where the game is only as hard as you make it – you can overcome anything as long as you have patience and learn from your mistakes. Hollow Knight takes these lessons from Dark Souls and injects them into a MetroidVania, with all the side-scrolling and upgrades you could possibly want. You can even play it on the Nintendo Switch now. Though newcomers may be offput by its clearly retro-inspired, twin-stick shoot ‘em up design, Nex Machina is a gem for fans of the classics. Featuring a play-style that’s heavily influenced by arcade cabinets Robotron (1982) and Smash TV (1990), Nex Machina will feel familiar to anyone versed in the products of games industry veteran Eugene Jarvis.That’s because Jarvis served as a creative consultant on this project, whose creation was helmed primarily by Super Stardust and Resogun developer Housemarque. Similar to Jarvis’ previous works, Nex Machina is played from a top-down perspective, with players taking out waves of enemies in order to protect human allies. Introversions was one of the earliest 'indie' companies, releasing games like Uplink, Defcon and Darwinia whilst Vlambeer were still in short pants. After years of struggling, they've finally hit a huge success with Prison Architect, a game where you build, staff, outfit and manage a maximum security prison.With smart prisoners who are willing to do anything to escape, you'll struggle to keep them all inside - or keep them from rioting - and turn a profit. It's still in alpha, but it's eminently playable right now.. While The Kerbal Space Program might actually take you (or at least those poor doomed Kerbals) to the moon, To The Moon is a game about wish fulfillment, and thrives on narrative. In terms of movies, Kerbal is Gravity and Isaac is Saw, To The Moon is Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind.You control two doctors who are exploring a dying man's memories to implant a false memory so he can die in peace. Which is all depicted in a classic 16-bit Zelda style. It's a rare, brave, adult game. Dwarf Fortress is its own genre, its own industry. This is a game that, before you've even set foot in it, has to generate the entire geography, mythology and history of its massive world. Then it tracks every single one of the dwarfs you're managing down to the hairs on their legs and the particular horrible elephant murder that they witnessed and they're now carving on an ornamental chair.Your task is to keep the dwarves alive as they carve out their subterranean kingdom - given that insanity, monsters, and starvation plague are thrown at them at every stage that's not easy. And dwarves, always, always mine too deep. Run. Jump. Die. Repeat. That's the basic premise of Super Meat Boy, a fiendishly addictive 2D platformer that's also bloody hard, with an emphasis on bloody. Pints of the red stuff is spilled as the game's eponymous meaty hero leap over deadly drops, spinning blades and walking chainsaws in a bid to rescue his girlfriend, Bandage Girl, from the evil Dr Foetus. Obviously. Boasting tight controls, plenty of humor and color graphics, Super Meat Boy leapt onto the PS4 and Vita this year in style. It might not be Playdead’s most recent game, but Limbo is timeless. Even five years after its release, the game’s haunting storyline still affects us. You play the Boy, a child with glowing eyes who’s cast into Limbo to find his sister. Making your way through a bleak and dangerous world full of hostile silhouettes, giant spiders and deadly gravitational fields, you’ll need to think quickly and perfectly time your movements if you’re going to survive.But Limbo is much more than a simple platformer: it's an experience, and one that has you pondering the very essence of life by the time it's over. Deep, profound and absorbing, it's one indie game everybody should take time out to play. If you're yearning for a retro-styled multiplayer archery combat game (aren't we all?), TowerFall: Ascension is the pick of the lot. Fast, frenetic and teeth-gnashingly hard in hardcore mode, the game's mechanics are simple: fire arrows at enemies or jump on their heads to stay alive until the round ends.Arrows that don't hit are embedded in walls, making for tense scenarios when you have to traverse the map while dodging enemies to retrieve them. As such, practicing until you achieve Robin Hood-esque levels of accuracy is recommended. Ascension is best experienced with friends in local multiplayer mode, which recalls Super Smash Bros' most manic moments. It’s not often that a platformer manages to balance challenging and engaging gameplay with an emotional and thought-provoking narrative, but Celeste pulls it off. From the developers of Towerfall, Celeste follows the story of Madeline, a young girl who decides to face her mental health issues by climbing to the top of the mysterious Celeste Mountain. Ind doing so, she learns more not only about the mountain, but about herself amid the heartwarming process. An inevitable classic, Celeste integrates the obvious jump, air-dash and climb controls into a brutal series of platforming challenges in upwards of 700 unique screens. And, if that’s too easy, you’ll unlock B-side chapters along the way, designed for only the bravest of hardcore players. Better yet, you don’t have to worry about waiting an eternity between each respawn. Instead, Celeste brings you back from the grave instantaneously, a welcome departure from the typically extensive load screens. Admittedly, exclusive indie games always wind up with the short end of the stick. That continues to ring true for Golf Story, an homage to Mario Golf on the Game Boy Color developed by Sidebar Games. As it’s a debut title for the Nintendo Switch, you might have overlooked Golf Story considering it came out on the same day as Stardew Valley, but here’s what you need to know.You don’t have to obsess over the PGA Tour to get into Golf Story, as you’re likely better off appreciating it for its RPG elements. Substituting combat for an athletic sport, you begin your adventure as a kid who is mentored by his dad before realizing he isn’t very good at golfing, something you’ll have to overcome as you pursue professional golf. After the raging success that was the original Nidhogg, it’s a shame to see the superior sequel get thrown under the bus. Nevertheless, in spite of its controversial art style, Nidhogg 2 packs a refined, gorgeous look that the first version, a cult-classic, couldn’t even think to compete with. In still frames, we can see how this could get misconstrued, but fortunately, it’s the fun and addictive local multiplayer gameplay that makes Nidhogg, well, Nidhogg. And it’s all there in Nidhogg 2. Plus, every time you respawn, you get one of four unique weapons that only bolster the challenge. Esteemed indie designer Jon Blow's follow up to Braid may look like an entirely different adventure, being 3D and all, but the two are more thematically alike than you might think. The Witness, at its core, is another puzzle game that tells an interesting story through said puzzles.This puzzler takes place in an almost equally impressionist – albeit heavily Myst-inspired – world, but it's story is far more nuanced and mysterious than Blow's previous. At almost every corner of this island that you've simply woken up on (or beneath), there is a clue as to how you got onto this island and why you're here. Don’t get us wrong, we liked Bastion, but we won’t deny that Transistor was SuperGiant Games’ best work to date. Much of that has to do with the convergence of action-based and turn-based RPG elements contained within its cyberpunk futurescape. Likewise, in classic SuperGiant fashion, those mechanics are complemented by a gorgeous art style and a music score so unforgettable it’ll make you want to buy the soundtrack.Leaving key gameplay beats up to the player, the story isn’t so variable. Transistor’s main character, Red, is a renowned singer in the city of Cloudbank. However, she’s been attacked by a group of vicious robots who call themselves the Process, operated by another group called the Camerata. In her journey, she finds the Transistor, a mysterious sword with the voice of a man. Soon enough, she’ll learn more about him and how he will shake up her world. It’s weird to think that Oxenfree came out before the first season of Stranger Things, and yet, the two properties coincidentally have a lot in common. The 80s-inspired heavy synth music composed by scntfc, for one, accentuates some truly gripping sci-fi horror centering around – you guessed it – a group of teenagers stuck on an island.The story involves a handful of uniquely written characters, namely the main character Alex, along with her stoner friend Ren, her newfound stepbrother Jonas, her dead brother Michael’s ex-girlfriend Clarissa and her best friend Nona (who Ren happens to be in love with).The plot is explained through branching speech dialogue, similar to Life is Strange or modern-day Telltale games, and features five different endings depending on your choices. Exploring a surreal wilderness seems like quite the trend these days in gaming, and developer Campo Santo's debut only serves to keep it going strong. Set in the wilderness of 1989 Wyoming, you're Henry, a fire lookout that's all alone in the woods after exploring something strange in the distance.That is, save for your partner on the other line of a walkie-talkie: Delilah. She's your only point of contact as you explore the wilderness. Will you make it back alive? Will the decisions you make help or harm the relationship with your only lifeline to the outside world, your boss? Don't worry about those questions just yet – just look at those forestscapes! Rust is one of the more successful indie titles of recent times. By the end of 2015 it had sold more than 3 million copies, which isn't too shabby considering it isn't even finished — the game has been on Steam's Early Access scheme since launching in December 2013.Still, it seems people can't get enough of the Day Z-inspired survival sim. It sees you use your wits and bearings to survive its harsh open world, starting off with nothing but a rock. After gathering resources needed to build a house and weapons to fend off attackers (other online players, in other words), Rust gradually becomes more intense as you defend your growing base — or attempt to breach others'. Source link

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