Giving it a shot in the dark. Seeking company for the end of the world or until we get bored, whichever comes first.
I am a vibrant 31-year-old woman residing in the beautiful Caribbean, and I'm loving life but wanting someone to spend it with and seeking to embark on a new chapter of my life. I'm on the lookout for someone special who is either already living here or open to the idea of relocating to this tropical paradise.
About Me:
As an artist, I find inspiration in the vibrant colors and natural beauty that surround me. My days are filled with creating unique pieces that reflect the essence of the Caribbean. When I'm not immersed in my artwork, I love indulging in various tropical hobbies. Snorkeling in the crystal-clear waters and enjoying a sundowner on the beach are some of my favorite pastimes.
What I'm Looking For:
I'm seeking a long-term relationship with someone who shares my zest for life and appreciates the beauty of the Caribbean. Ideally, I would love to connect with someone my age or preferably older, as I find maturity and life experiences to be incredibly appealing. Trustworthiness, a good sense of humor, kindness, generosity, and financial stability are qualities that resonate with me.
I believe that a strong connection starts with mutual attraction, so I am more than happy to exchange photos through private messages to explore that initial spark.
If you are ready to embark on an exciting adventure with a charming and attractive lady like myself, don't hesitate to reach out. Let's create beautiful memories together amidst the stunning backdrop of the Caribbean!
Note: Please keep all interactions respectful and genuine. I look forward to meeting someone who is ready to embrace life's wonders with open arms.
Your photo gets mine.
Looking forward to hearing from you soon!
See you on the beach?
🏝️

Review of "Queen II" by Queen -----------------------------------------------
After opening a rift to another world with the debut, one of whimsical adventures awaiting to be explored, spells waiting to be uncovered, and ogres in the fantastical lands of Rhye, her highness invites her followers into two sides. A good side and a much darker side with the creative concept of having a Side White and Side Black rather than your typical Side 1 and 2.
"Queen II" is not a concept album but it does have a loose theme running throughout at least some of the songs that are mostly on Side Black which is penned entirely by frontman Freddie Mercury. This album is the first to have elements of their style with multi-layered guitar overdubs, vocal harmonies, and the vast exploration of many musical styles, and though it had mixed-to-negative ratings from contemporary critics, its now hailed as a staple of the bands output and held in HIGH regard by retrospective critics, other musicians, and even the band, becoming a fan-favorite too.
Side White is penned mainly by Brian May and begins with the intro of "Procession/Father To Son" which is a hard rocker that starts off slow and functions as an intro to the album, an opening track introducing and building up excitement. The lyricism is quite good on this song and is about a father talking to his son about the country he will acquire as he grows into royalty. "White Queen (As It Began)" follows with an intro functioning as a tail to the previous track since it leads directly into this song via a fade-in and the chord progression is the same with that of the chorus with a change in harmonic rhythms. Starting on the fourth beat where the static multi-tracked guitars start to play. Acoustic guitar joins making the key G Major which is inherited from the outro of the previous song, as Freddie sings emotionally with pain and grief.
The verses are about the speakers' lost love who he waits for nightly with sadness and feature Brian May playing four measures long with a folk-influenced fingerpicked figure. The riff plays in A minor to give the feeling of melancholy as the bass descends with each measure and the measure is subverted in a clever intriguing way for the third measure. The song also features a heavier rock section and after the second chorus a guitar solo featuring May playing his acoustic guitar in a creative unique way of making it sound like a sitar.
"Some Day One Day" features Brian May on vocals for the first time and is a softer song with rather poetic lyrics and all guitars play different parts, while Roger Taylor gets a chance to shine with "The Loser in the End" which is the only track where the drums actually sound decently recorded; however this song is much heavier and sticks out of place like a sore thumb blister with some of the worst lyrics to ever disgrace a song from this band, and a pretentious, boring composition.
Side Black is when her highness steps down and lets all her pain out, opening to a darker world; "Ogre Battle" is quite the impressive number, opening with the outro playing in reverse and smoothly sliding into the main guitar riff completely naturally that it's hard to tell it was even reversed upon first listen. The song is a fun Hard Rock number with the lyrics describing fighting of the fantastical Ogre creatures and Freddie lets out one of the highest notes he's hit with the instrumental break featuring an ogre-like scream which leads into verse 3 detailing the end of the battle.
"The Fairy Feller's Master-Stroke" features an opening sound segueing from the previous track and playing in E minor as harmonized vocals enter. Two ostinato patterns carry by the piano, clavichord to give the song a medieval feel and a bassline, The tonality is weak with a D chord which functioning as the tonal center of the current subsection, sounds like the VII chord of the preceding E minor tonic. The C and B bass lines make it flexible while the music remains “harmonious”. But in the end it does not resolve to E minor but to A minor, as a simple chord on the piano is played, the lyrics in a genius way describe the story and the narrator's take on the painting as the song ends leading into "Nevermore", a beautiful well composed piano ballad detailing the distress of a breakup with beautiful heartfelt lyrics and falsetto vocals.
"The March of the Black Queen" is perhaps the bands first magnum opus, stomping out of Side Black with a great variety of music during its seven minute length. Starting out with a slow, dramatic piano intro from Freddie as he plays appoggiatura figurations on the B chord with a pitch of E harmonic minor, the next section starts with an E minor as two dramatic guitars explode into the first line, entering on the even tempo while the backing vocals create a harmonic carpet. The song goes through multiple harmonies accompanying the pentatonic lead vocals with a short instrumental break with amazing vocal harmonies.
This song also features references to the 1863 book "The Water Babies" in verse 1, as Mercury was a big fan of Victorian era culture which inspired the feel of this album overall. This song just has a boldness striking the ear with its studio-mastery and having angelic interludes. It leads to "Funny How Love Is" which is a good song influenced by The Beach Boys which Mercury was a huge fan of, with harmonies similar to theirs and trying to emulate the Wall of Sound production style. Unfortunately, this song sounds like utter garbage and sounds so different from the rest of the albums' production style and sound that it sticks out in a weird way; quite literally as if it was recorded with a toaster, making it a weak point of the album. The album ends with "Seven Seas of Rhye" which became the bands' first entry in the UK singles charts and lead to their first Top of The Pops appearance helping them break into the mainstream. It's a catchy yet impressive song.
Overall while a tad faulty, this album is one of Queen's very best and it makes sense why many see it as one of the best of all time even if I don't. They pushed their roots in rock and metal as far as they could which resulted in what showed their studio mastery, weaknesses and caused it to lack the bite of "Queen" and the super brilliance of following "Sheer Heart Attack"
Rating: ★★★.5

Hello everyone,
I hope this message finds you well. I have some exciting news to share with you all. For a while now, I've been working on a Megaman Battle Network Game that aims to take the franchise to the next level. My journey started even before the release of the legacy collection, and now I'm looking for passionate individuals who would like to join me in bringing this project to life.
The game mechanics of the Megaman Battle Network series have been a major inspiration for me, and my goal is to create a game that encompasses all the beloved elements of the series. This includes the grid-based battle mechanics, Battle Chip collection and deck editing, Style Changes, SOL Union, Cross Fusion, and much more.
To add to the excitement and uniqueness of the gameplay experience, I have envisioned the inclusion of a custom character creation feature specifically designed for the net navies. Instead of playing as Megaman, players will have the opportunity to play as their own net navi, allowing for a more personalized adventure. You can check out the first version of the net navi customizer through this link: [https://youtu.be/RwkUtMiGhTA] and [https://youtube.com/shorts/S-fTGTVvQeM]
I understand that random enemy encounters have often been a source of frustration for players. To address this, I propose a solution inspired by games like Pokémon. In the game world, encountering enemies will no longer be random. Instead, players will have two options for engaging with them. First, they can choose to swiftly destroy an enemy in the open world, allowing them to reach their desired destination more promptly. Alternatively, they can crash into an enemy, triggering the conventional grid-based battle system, which will offer more rewards and loot from the encounter.
These are just a few of the exciting ideas I have for the game. I firmly believe that with the right team of talented individuals, we can bring this project to completion and create an incredible gaming experience for both Megaman Battle Network fans and newcomers alike.
As you can see, this prototype is still in its early stages, and I must admit that I am far from being a skilled programmer. Waiting for a game like this became incredibly frustrating, especially since Capcom has shown no signs of adding anything new to the series anytime soon. Despite my limited programming skills, I've been fortunate enough to create what you have seen so far. However, I am certain that my lack of expertise is slowing down the development process. That's why I invite all of you to join me in this endeavor.
You don't need to have prior experience to contribute to the project. When I started this project in Unity3D, I was also a beginner. However, I've since switched to a different game engine that has allowed me to achieve faster results. In my opinion, it's a much easier game engine to work with, at least for creating prototypes. I already have the basic building blocks in place, such as the custom character creation system, partial battle chip system, partial enemy encounter system, and exploration. However, as you can see, these aspects still need further refinement.
If you're interested, please leave a comment indicating what you would like to contribute to the project or any questions you may have, and I'll do my best to respond as promptly as possible.
Thank you for your time, and I look forward to collaborating with all of you on this exciting project.

Retro games are cool escpecial sense there less demanding than modern games. i have some old pc's that i would like to test the limits of, and there is something about retro games that i like. Im looking for game suggestions that are small in size but still fun and are for pc like old windows or a small linux distro.
it would help if there cheap too or can be found at something like a thrift store or in an attic. im a fan of open world, text based, visaul novels, adventures, shooters, long game, roguelikes, soulslikes, or anything unique and cool, but im really up for anything as long as its fun. if im posting this in the wrong place please let me know in the comments. i also like retro software which you could also suggest if you want but you do you.

PoE is currently the top game for seasonal content. Like or hate the game they have been pretty genius about it. Everything about the game is really well suited to supporting seasonal content.
​
The game is set on an island that is the source of all magic and the home of a bunch of mysterious lost civilizations but was forbidden to come and go from your hundreds of years. But opens for travel during the game, so it puts a very easy entry point for "new guy shows up every three months to investigate mystery of the island". But you also see the gods who had been sealed for hundreds of years waking up so every three months a new god showing up to do something is also easy to write. Then beyond that, the endgame is you opening the atlas to explore an endless mysterious universe, then eventually destroying the wall around that so things from outside that can come in. So you can justify endless "this month this new thing showed up from beyond the starts with a new mystery". It even has a sort of loose cycle narrative so the story can both reset every month but also continue since you are always meeting and fighting past explorers of the atlus that you are supposed to imagine was players from older seasons. It's basically a perfectly made narrative to have endless entry points for any sort of new mini story to show up at any time. Perfect for rotating temporary seasonal content. Endless points to say "this new thing showed up this week that was never here before but might leave soon".
Likewise the randomized maps mean if this month is tower defense every area can be generated to have tower defense areas. And the endgame being so tied to "a machine that you put items in that generate portals to new locations" means it's always trivial to place a new area, it just exists in the atlus and can be visited through the machine.
How do you think diablo will handle these things? It has a much more ridged story, where it feels like it would be hard to justify as many types of content just "showing up" and it would take more narrative work to explain each guy now coming to town with their whole new thing. Likewise with a fixed world map they will need to place every single new area as a place (which I suspect it the function of cellars, every three months we might lose a cellar and it becomes the location of the whatever temple that is the new conceptual core of the new season)
Any theories on how diablo IV might handle this stuff? or theories it might have more limited season content like diablo 3 or diablo 2 and not big things the way PoE does.

10/10

1. The Incredibles
   
2. Shrek 2
   
3. Toy Story 2
   

9/10

1. How to Train your Dragon
   
2. Monsters, Inc
   
3. Kung Fu Panda
   
4. Puss in Boots 2: The Last Wish
   
5. Toy Story 3
   
6. How to Train your Dragon 3: The Hidden World
   

8/10
9.Wreck-it-Ralph
10.Kung Fu Panda 2

1. Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs
   
2. Surf's Up
   
3. Shrek Forever After
   
4. Shrek
   
5. Toy Story 4
   

7/10

1. The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh
   
2. Goosebumps
   
3. Finding Nemo
   
4. Kung Fu Panda 3
   
5. How to Train your Dragon 2
   
6. Despicable Me
   
7. The Croods 2: A New Age
   
8. Finding Dory
   
9. Toy Story
   
10. Ice Age
    
11. Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs 2
    

6/10

1. Penguins of Madagascar
   
2. Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa
   
3. Cars 3
   
4. Monsters University
   
5. Winnie the Pooh
   
6. Sing 2
   
7. Hotel Transylvania 2
   
8. Saludos Amigos
   
9. Madagascar
   
10. The Rescuers
    
11. Madagascar 3: Europe's Most Wanted
    
12. Puss in Boots
    
13. Incredibles 2
    
14. Frozen
    

5/10

1. Hotel Transylvania
   
2. Despicable Me 2
   
3. Ice Age 2
   
4. Rio
   
5. Frozen 2
   
6. Cars
   
7. The Croods
   
8. Goosebumps 2: Haunted Halloween
   
9. Lightyear
   
10. Rio 2
    

4/10

1. Minions: The Rise of Gru
   
2. Sing
   
3. Ice Age 3: Dawn of the Dinosaurs
   
4. Despicable Me 3
   
5. Hotel Transylvania 3: Summer Vacation
   
6. The resuers: Down Under
   
7. Open Season
   
8. Open Season 4: Scared Silly
   
9. The Three Caballeros
   
10. Trolls
    

3/10

1. Ice Age 4: Continental Drift
   
2. Ralph Breaks the Internet
   
3. The Secret Life of Pets
   
4. Trolls 2: World Tour
   

2/10

1. Shrek the Third
   
2. Ice Age 5: Collision Course
   
3. Minions
   
4. Cars 2
   
5. The Secret Life of Pets 2
   
6. The Smurfs: The Lost Village
   
7. The Smurfs 2
   
8. The Smurfs
   
9. Open Season 2
   

1/10

1. Open Season 3
   
2. Surf's Up 2: Wavemania
   

It is a story that is goofy as hell since it is made up strictly for my own enjoyment and nothing else. However the concept is salvagable(wouldn't write a book, but I can make a hfy post about it). I just need help on guessing some of the effects of my scenario.
The Lore is Earth in 2022 gets invaded by unnamed aliens I will keep unnamed for literary purposes. By the initial invasion Military bases with missile sites, capitals and AA capabilities are targeted and destroyed, along with all large scale electric production (with exceptions because I wanted a cool dam battle however it went offline so kinda excused) , factories and anything else large enough to be worth a shot, such as dense areas of cities.
Aliens have no interest in studying or contacting humans. They have a systematic procedure to extract resources with as little cost as possible. They set up extracting operations with defences that shoot on sight, and the procedure is satellites and laser guns(all solar powered) watching Earth to detect group behaviour over a certain size (like 20 or something) and killing any percieved leader figures until the group is destroyed, making cooperation essentially impossible and humanity devolving into anarchy.
The stuff that are known to potentially trigger an attack include : Carrying banners, flags also used by other groups People giving things without recieving anything equivalent unless it is through use of force Sticking around together in groups larger than tolerated Radio broadcasting and communication Leaders of smaller groups talking to each other or sending envoys Two small enough groups fighting together. Approaching, scouting or doing anything sus near the mines.
Anyways, the story is set in 2027, after everyone that couldn't find a stable food source(farming, herding, fishing, hunting) without depending on others are dead. My Question is, how many humans would be remaining alive in such a scenario? And what materials would an alien civilization be interested and consider valuable?
As for the story, here it is. There is a guy travelling through Turkey meeting ex Turkish military men that dedicatedly observe the satellites, getting an Iranian missile scientist(with some friends) and a Turkish general that worked in İncirlik Base alongside him, they form a conspiracy to 1) Make anti satellite missiles since existing ones were destroyed during the invasion in the initial invasion and 2) Retake İncirlik base from American soldiers turned bandits to access the nukes there and make additional missiles to deliver them and 3) Destroy the satellites and nuke the shit out of alien mines.
It works. Radio silence is broken. Word spreads like wildfire. Entire humanity begins recreating the old world the best they could, and preparing for another war. Restoration conflicts occur, first between nationalists(restorationists) trying to establish a government against all forms of warlords, bandits, raiders, local leaders, separatists that do not cooperate with self proclaimed authorities. In this stage all self appointed legitimate governments cooperate. I had posted about it in this sub, with Turkey and Greece waging war together (The most unrealistic part, I posted about it here on a previous account) against pirates of the Aegean who are the people of the Greek islands having survived by raiding the mainlanders for the past 5 years. After it comes the skirmishing phase with groups loosely aligned with governments that have moved into other nations territory during anarchy being expelled, often turning into border conflicts but not full scale war, and also alternative self proclaimed governments that come close to fighting. And in the end comes the consolidation phase where pre invasion de facto borders are considered legitimate and actively protected by all governments who become more and more legitimate/democratic with warlordism and local powers mostly passed over. Oil production begins again, and the world rebuilds, preparing to attack the enemy planet and defend when they come.
I plan to end the story with humanity sending a fuck you missile to the planet that is origin of the invasion destroying the life on it, and recieving the same some years later, going extinct apart from few bunkers. As for the aliens, I will not say anything in the story but that planet was just the colonial capital. I was inspired by Belgian colonialism (The part about how they demanded 2 hands for every bullet shot from the soldiers so they don't pay for bullets), and thought what if aliens just wanted to exploit the earth with that much greed.
Didn't go for enslavement trope because machines are more efficient, just thought what aliens would do to take resources without a single fuck given about local life. So basically our part of the galaxy is the Congo except they don't care about labour, the aliens are Belgians, we as humans are just a random tribe that put up considerable resistance, managing to burn down the colonial capital and being wiped out as a result.

Going to Japan with my sister (24F) and parents (early 60s) early October. They're adventurous decently active but I want to make sure I'm not overdoing and rushing the trip too much. Most of my goals have been to integrate all their favorite things (small, scenic towns; cool architecture, adventures; food and drinking) since this will their first time in Japan (and my second time).
DAY 0
Commute to Kadoya (50 mins)
Gyoen Garden
Golden Gai
Kabukicho - Godzilla statue
Hanazono Shrine
DAY 1
Jimbocho
Imperial Gardens
Ootoya
Ueno: Tokyo National Museum
Dinner, then Shibuya Crossing Taishushusen Terumae - nomihoudai $4 1hr
Karaoke?
Day 2-4
SHIBUYA/Harajuku + Meiji Shrine
GINZA
Café de l'Ambre - kissaten
Kabuki-za
Tsukiji Outer market
Monja Street
Team labs
High end shopping district
ASAKUSA
Tokyo National Museum
senso ji
kappabashi st nearby (knives)
imo pippi - sweet potato angel hair
Hoppy Dori street
Hakone - 1 (arrive morning) (5-6th)
Be at inn by 5pm, ready to chillax, onsen, etc
Hakone Circuit (6-8 hours)
Open air museum
Tori
Cable car and ship
Kyoto - 3 (6-9th)
Kaiseki
nishiki market
Fushimi Inari shrine
Gekkeikan Okura Sake Museum
Kinkajou temple
Arashiyama bamboo
Cruise hozugawa river?
yebisu bar - matcha beer
Hiroshima - 2 (9-11)
Arrive: Okonomiyaki at station, then go to hotel SUNDAY peace room
Peace museum
Hiroshima castle
Dad’s bday! Miyajima island (45 minute ferry)
ROUTE FROM HIROSHIMA TO OSAKA early on 11th if we wanna go on side trips
Hejimi 30 min walk either way off route
Kobe (beef, carpentry museum - Takenaka)
Osaka - 2 (11-13)
Osaka cocktail library akashic records
Osaka castle
Shinsekai
dotonbori
kuromon
round1
Nara (30 min by bus) - Buddha and deer park, Horyuji temple -wood
COMMUTE: 3 hours by JR to Kanazawa, get there afternoon/evening
Kanazawa - 2 (13-15)
Kanazawa night tour + dinner $100pp
Kanazawa castle - wood
Kenrokuen garden
DAY TRIP
SHIRAKAWA town (1 hr 45 mins each way)
COMMUTE: 3hr mins back to Tokyo by bus and JR, arrive late evening
Tokyo 1 (15-16th)
Any leftover activities – flight at 5pm
​
I worry Kanazawa is one place too many, but my sister wants to see a small town and Shirakawa seemed like a great choice. Is this pace too much? We'll be taking the JR

Sitting with my father in law and grandfather in law. The old man is a coast guard vet and was telling us how he saw Elvis Presley during a libo weekend in Philly ca ‘52 or so. His squad(?) won room inspection and they were granted libo. My FIL a former marine as well as me said “Jesus we didn’t get to go anywhere during boot camp.” Which led to me saying we were literally on an island cut off from the world. I was wondering if anyone here was on the island or out in Pendleton during a major world event and were told of the incident via DI’s, i.e. 9/11, Berlin Wall coming down, JFK’s assassination, or the US declaring war.

It was at midnight exactly when everyone who was awake promptly passed out.
It wasn't an instant 'fall to the ground like a corpse' mass unconsciousness. It was just this sudden and intense state of exhaustion that made it impossible to stay awake.
Ours was a mining town, averaging around 70,000 population, and recently being hit by recession that made finding work a pain in the ass. And with the mine running dry, it was all we could do to keep afloat.
I was out for a stroll when the exhaustion hit, I was crossing the street when this oppressively heavy state of exhaustion just hit me. I panicked, of course, thinking that I was having a stroke or something, desperately trying to get to the other side of the crosswalk.
Then darkness.
It was the sunlight that woke me up, I squinted in the hellishly bright light and fumbled around for my sunglasses. Why I kept sunglasses on my person in the dead of night was because I was that kind of asshole who wanted to look cool. My mileage definitely varied on that front, but it was at least an attempt.
Still, when I managed to find them, confused as to why I was on hot asphalt, I put them on, only for them to immediately fall off. I was forced to open my eyes, and that's when I saw my hands.
At first, I thought it was the mother of all sunburns, being so bright red, but when the sound came out of my mouth, I knew something had gone terribly wrong. First and foremost, I was covered in bright red scales, I had these short, sharp claws at the end of my hands, on top of which my feet were utterly fucked up, and I had a tail.
I scrambled for my phone, wondering if it would even register my touch, Thankfully, it did.
You know those memes where someone takes a picture of an animal, and it looks really fucking funny? Guess whose first picture was like that. I turned on the camera, flipped the camera so I could see myself on the screen, and accidentally took a picture as my new snout filled the screen.
I tried to get up, but I realized that my clothes were too big, and that I had gone from a solid 6 feet and dropped to a measly three. Bear in mind, the average height of a person with dwarfism is a solid four, and I know this because I did an entire project on it in ninth grade.
I had no idea what the hell I was, if I was the only person like this, and I was forced to use my XL shirt to cover my otherwise naked body, tearing the shit out of it with my new feet claws, and being faced with the reality that being a three-foot lizard meant I had to crawl through my dog door.
Thankfully, Brutus didn't even seem phased, he just walked up to me, tail wagging, and very much wanting to be pet, which I did, very carefully. I needed something pure and wholesome in the world to keep me from going insane.
That was around six AM.
Now, googling 'Help, I've turned into a three foot lizard' didn't help at all, and I sure as shit didn't want to walk all of the way to my parent's house and potentially freak them out, but I did have my brother.
James is a furry, I'll just say it flat out. Like, an absolute turbo furry. It had taken me time to get used to the idea that he liked furry characters, and I knew a lot of the art he liked dealt with this kind of situation.
I was desperate, and I needed someone on my side. When I called him, it rang and then went to voicemail, and I proceeded to continuously call him, because he will eventually wake up. I got ready to call him again when a notification came up saying he wanted to FaceTime.
I braced myself for his inevitable squeeing when he saw I'd been transformed into a tiny little lizard.
I didn't expect him to be one as well.
Of course, he was the one who was fucking ecstatic, and it took me a lot of attempts to get him to listen to me, which he eventually did.
"Bro." I said, the words slipping out of my mouth weird. I had to carefully enunciate, moving a tongue that was completely alien to me inside of a mouth that didn't work the way I was used to. "What the thuck ith going on?" I asked. "Do you haff any idea what ith going on."
It was painful, really. Of course my brother spoke fluently. It didn't occur to me until he was halfway through his diatribe about TF triggers that I said, "Hey, wait, you're speaking another language." I paused. "I'm speaking another language!"
Like, it all translated into English for me, but we were very much speaking a language that was full of sibilants and yips, yaps, and naks.
"Oh, yeah. That's Yipyak." He said.
"What the fuck is a Yipyak, and if this is some sort of deez nuts joke, I'm going over there and clawing you."
So he explained that we were both Kobolds, creatures from Dungeons and Dragons, and our native language was Draconic, more specifically a pidgin language known as Yipyak.
"Alright, scholar of the Kobolds, what do we do about this situation, because people are going to freak out."
"Brother." He said. "There's no way in hell it's just us."
Part of me knew he was right, but I absolutely did not want to believe it.
Naturally, people gathered around the Town Hall.
The screaming started around eight AM, as people woke up to find themselves turned into Kobolds. Some of them were screaming in joy, others were as horrified as I was, but that wasn't the worst part.
Only half of us were Kobolds.
Mom and Dad picked us up, because they could reach the pedals. They were, of course, very concerned, but they helped us out because they loved us.
Most of the people who arrived who had been turned into Kobolds had to make due with shirts hiked up to their waists and tied off with a belt, the rest just stood around. Naked. There was one weirdo who just made a loincloth and was looking very proud of himself.
Weirdly enough, I actually kind of wanted one.
So, there we were, engaging in what was effectively a cultural exchange between the nerds and furries and the rest of us normal folk. Really, the only explanation as to how and why this happened was. "Fucked if we know, but it has knock-on implications for the rest of the universe."
The Humans- wow, that was a thought I just had, and not one I could just not have- The Humans were of course upset that this had happened and that our entire town was facing a crisis that we didn't know how to deal with.
But the furries had hypotheses.
First, the facts as we knew them. Exactly half of our population had been transformed. The only people who transformed were the D&D nerds and the furries, with the rest being directly related. The transformation only seemed to only effect family members in the same generation, which is why a husband and wife were Kobolds, but their kids weren't. Finally, there was nothing like this happening anywhere else in the world.
Therefore, the hypotheses were thus:
A. Some sort of wild magic surge triggered the transformation. And yes, magic was real because some of us could use it. Me included.
B. The D&D universe actually existed and was bleeding into reality. This excited the D&D players, because it meant they could go on an adventure.
C. There was a Dragon somewhere, maybe in the mine, and it wanted minions. Nobody liked this idea. Well, nobody said they liked it. I felt weirdly okay with it.
D. This was just Some Weird Shit, so let's just move on.
Naturally, someone leaked what happened, the government came, and, well, that's when we discovered that anyone entering the town limits had a roughly 50/50 chance of getting instantly turned into a Kobold. We also determined we could leave, but the way was blockaded because nobody wanted this to spread.
To the government's credit, they didn't take away our civil liberties to dissect us, they just showed up, brought scientists, and started trying to figure out what was going on.
The rest of us just had to adjust.
We couldn't really live in our own houses anymore, I mean, they're not even built for people with Dwarfism, it was even worse for us because we couldn't even reach the counter. So we just did the best we could. Some carpenters got together and started building houses that were proportional to our size. Kitchen appliances weren't going to be of any real help, so we just had to make due with houses that didn't have any electricity, but at least worked well with space heaters.
One of the best things about these houses was that they were quick to make and were easy to navigate. Some of the people built medieval-style housing, which I found myself increasingly attracted to as a place to live. Some of the D&D players were part of something called the Society of Creative Anachronism, and they hand made a lot of clothes that, for whatever reason, my stupid little Kobold brain liked, so here I was in a thatch-roofed house proportional to my size in medieval clothing that I could not fathom why I liked it.
In fact, I'm beginning to hate who I used to be.
The first sign that I was experiencing a dislike of my Human body was when I saw a picture of me and just got angry. Like, I smashed the frame against the floor and tore the thing to shreds before I got a hold of myself.
I catch myself only talking in Yipyak, and being annoyed when I have to switch to English. Not to mention, I've begun practicing magic. I can't explain how it works, I just know it works, it's helped me keep the place clean.
I know how to cast six of these spells, though, two of them exhaust me. The D&D nerds identified them as 'Prestidigitation, Mage Hand, Mending, Firebolt, Detect Magic, and Magic Missile.' Basically, the power do to a lot or really minor effects, the ability to create a magic hand that does whatever I want it to, the ability to fix some things, and the ability to throw fire at something- all at will. As well as the ability to see magic and the ability to throw magic at something that will always hit.
A lot of utility.
So with Detect Magic, I was able to determine that the town was surrounded in a cylindrical magic field, I actually took the time to help mark the border so people wouldn't accidentally become a Kobold. Other things I was able to figure out was that it was a '9th level' spell with Transmutation.
"Oh, that's Mass Polymorph! But that spell only effects ten creatures."
"Well, whatever it is, it's made a hell of a mess of things." I said.
Well, something came out of the mine earlier today, it was a giant fucking rat, and I used Magic Missile to kill it. I was halfway through skinning it when I realized I was skinning it, and that I had never skinned an animal before. I kept at it, and brought it to the warren.
The warren?
Yeah, that word fits.
I have these weird moments of self-awareness where I suddenly remember what life used to be like, and how much I had changed. How much the others changed. Some of them had changed their names , and I realized with a start that I didn't want my name anymore.
But there's another one that's just on the tip of my tongue.
Ruuk.
A Kobold came up to me, wanting some help with something. He said my old name and all I could say in response was, "My name is Ruuk."
He didn't even question it, and immediately started using it. I helped out with what he needed- he'd broken his hoe and needed it fixed, which I obliged.
It struck me, as we hit our first year of this, that I didn't want to go back to being a Human.
​
[Navigation for 'Dragon Rising'- [1] [2]]

So, this post may be a hot take, but I’ve been struggling to figure out the words to describe the feelings I have with ToTK, and the general discussion on this subreddit. I got into Zelda a bit later in life (as a teenager), and my first Zelda was Link’s Awakening DX. I instantly loved it. All versions of Link Awakening were my top Zelda game. I played all the 2D Zeldas, and they were fantastic. LBW, the original Zelda, and the multiplayer games being some awesome highlights for different reasons.
But when I got into 3D Zelda, I was never captured in the same way. Twilight Princess was cool, but I definitely had to refer to guides to complete it. MM was probably my favourite of the bunch, but mostly from a mechanical perspective of the time loop, and it never captured me the same way that the 2D games did. OoT, WW, SS, I never could complete, and I ended up just watching my ex play through them instead.
Now, that’s not to say that they were bad games. They were clearly good games, but they never captured me the same way that LA did way back in the day. But then BoTW came out. Was it the perfect game? No. But it had a charisma that instantly got me addicted. It gave me the feeling I wanted from Zelda. The world had a charisma and sense of adventure that did honestly make me feel like a kid again.
That charisma is with ToTK as well, but it’s even layered on top. The side adventures, the rebuilding of the world, the life of the characters. This is the feeling that I had when I first played Link’s Awakening back in the day that I’ve been chasing from a Zelda game since.
Now in the end, I may be a minority on this subreddit. I’m an implicitly-driven gamer, I want to play games for the feelings I want to feel. And not everyone is like that, and even with the people who are, they may not get the same feelings playing ToTK.
Maybe it’s different for the folk who were in their formative years when OoT came out (mechanically, I’ve always gotten my puzzle action fix from other games). For me, I’m just disappointed that a subreddit on discussion seems like it’s missing the interesting discussions on ToTK. Caves are incredible subsystem of exploration, music and lighting go a long way in making each layer of the world have a dynamic feel, side adventures give the world a feeling of life that I feel is not in any other Zelda, etc.
It’s okay to have negatives, you don’t have to love the game. But it just seems disappointing that as someone who didn’t grow up with 3D Zelda and have the same attachment to those series staples, that there’s not a great discussion hub for the interesting in-depth things that ToTK does.

--- Table of Contents ---
Summer 4984, 13 Doumoth
“Ugh! I hate this!” Daisy whined loudly, letting her head fall back to stare at the ceiling.
“Almost done…” Rerves said to reassure her, though he lacked his usual smile.
Ania picked up the last piece of armor, a steel vambrace, and began polishing with a groan to match Daisy’s, “When we aren’t cleaning, we're polishing, when we aren’t polishing, we're cleaning. How is this Paladin training?”
“If I wanted to be a servant, I would've joined their guild…” Thom’s small voice chimed in.
Shon said nothing. The five Squires, Shon, Daisy, Thom, Rerves, and Ania, sat under a shade in the Temple courtyard, polishing the knights' spare armor for the hundredth time. The sun beat down mere feet away, reflecting off the finished pieces as the shadow of their shade crept closer and closer, the sun climbing towards noon. The yard was mostly clear, the Paladins not on duty retreating into the cool stone fortress while those on duty only occasionally coming to check on the Squires' progress.
Ania had the right of it. Ever since they'd moved into the Temple proper and became official Squires, the five of them had done nothing but clean, polish, and memorize armor and weapon vocabulary. And complain… the others always complained. Shon just sighed as the four others continued to gripe. There was no point in it, the work needed to be done, and they were the ones assigned to do it. It didn’t matter how annoying or monotonous it might be.
Sometimes the younger Paladins would join them in polishing, caring for their own armor while the Squires worked on the spare pieces. The spares were used mainly by the enlisted, and only if they hadn’t finished buying their own sets yet. Occasionally a Paladin would check out a set to practice with. Although most of them had a preferred style, they needed to stay proficient with all types. At least that meant only half of the pieces the Squires had to clean were still polished from the day before. If the armor was never used, it really would be a useless task, instead of half useless as it seemed now.
The Paladins never complained…
The Squires hadn’t started out tired and annoyed. Daisy and Shon had been joined after their first week by Thom and Rerves, who both came from the capital city. They'd been friends growing up, Rerves was a noble, and Thom's family worked as their personal stewards, one step up from servants. A week after that, Ania arrived from a small village in the south. Only having known one Paladin and having never seen a proper Temple before, she'd been in awe of the fortress Temple of the city for at least a month. But then the excitement had given way to frustration, and -for Shon at least- boredom. And so the others had started complaining.
Their relationship with each other had started out warm enough. They stayed up late into the night, sharing their histories and dreams of their future as full Paladins. Shon joined them when prompted but mostly preferred to listen. He didn’t think he had any stories worth sharing, though they had bombarded him with questions after Veon-Zih’s first training visit. Just like everyone else, they didn’t seem to know how to deal with Shon’s quiet nature. But unlike everyone else, they hadn’t pulled away and stopped talking to him altogether. Except when they complained. Shon never complained. He didn’t see the point. When asked, he would say that they needed to follow orders. So they'd stopped asking him.
Shon held his last piece of steel plate carefully by the leather straps, wiping the last bit of polish off with a clean rag. He could see his reflection distorted by the curves and dings, and wondered if he could manage to draw the changes accurately when given a chance. The tinking of metal on metal sounded in the distance, and the Squires' heads shot up, followed by their bodies as they scrambled to their feet to salute the woman approaching.
General Rasnah was resplendent as always in her uniform, the chains of office clinking on her shoulders. She walked towards the Squires with her head held high and her hands clasped behind her back. With her was Master Veon-Zih and Shon felt his spirits rise just a little higher.
“At ease, Squires.” Sir Rasnah said as she drew to a stop just outside their shade. She waited until they'd taken the formal 'at ease' position, legs shoulder-width apart and hands clasped behind their back, “Report.”
Rerves took charge, as usual, “Sir, we're nearly done, Sir.”
“Just one piece left, Sir,” Ania added, then blushed furiously as she usually did whenever addressing a high-ranking officer.
Sir Rasnah nodded, then glanced to the sky. She then looked to Veon-Zih, who smiled and shrugged. Her lips turned up on half her face in what could almost be called a grin before she cleared it, serious again as she addressed the Squires, “You may have the afternoon off. Report to the kitchens and evening duties before sixth bell.”
“Sir, yes, Sir!” the Squires spoke in unison, Shon’s four fellows grinning broadly and sneaking happy glances at one another.
They held their positions until Sir Rasnah turned away, walking back to the Temple proper and leaving them to their freedom. Veon-Zih remained behind, smiling warmly at them and addressing Shon, “Lunch? I found a fine eatery a few blocks away.”
Shon nodded, finally smiling with the rest, “And practice?” he asked.
“After food,” Veon-Zih answered, stepping aside and gesturing towards the gates. Shon rushed to help the others put the clean and polished armor away, then jogged to Veon-Zih before falling into step with him as they left the Temple.
Veon-Zih waited until they were well clear of the gates before asking, “So what do you think of your fellow Squires?”
Shon sighed in answer, which made Veon-Zih chuckle for some reason. But the sigh hadn’t really answered the question, so Shon said, “They complain a lot.” he probably could have, and should have, come up with something nicer to say. But after hours of hearing them gripe while they worked, it was the only thing on Shon’s mind.
“There's nothing wrong with complaining, you know.” Veon-Zih mused. Shon merely shook his head. The knights never complained; he'd been watching them. If there was a job that needed to be done, they would do it. His fellow Squires seemed to complain before, during, and after every unpleasant assignment. Though never in front of the Paladin giving it.
“Do you honestly think the knights like polishing armor? Do you like polishing that much? Maybe you should've come to the Monastery after all. We don’t wear armor, but we have many fine statues that all need to be polished every day. Every little nook and cranny scrubbed clean and shining.”
He glanced at Shon with a grin, then leaned over to whisper, “They hate it too, but just like your fellows won’t complain in front of them, they won’t complain in front of you.”
“It needs to be done…” Shon tried to argue, though it sounded hollow considering his own, though silent, annoyance.
“A perfect excuse,” Veon-Zih stated, turning sharply down a side road, so Shon had to jog to keep up, “There are many reasons spare armor needs to be polished. The most obvious is that it's needed to stay in good repair. The task is assigned to Squires because it gets you intimately familiar with armor beyond just naming the parts. And because no one else wants to do it.
“That doesn’t mean we should be complaining about it…”
“Not in front of the officers, no. But amongst each other? Why not?”
Shon furrowed his brow but didn’t have an answer. Veon-Zih gave him one, “Joint misery creates companionship. Even if you have nothing else in common, everyone knows you all hate polishing already clean armor. Right now, I bet your fellow Squires are scratching their heads, wondering if you do actually enjoy the task. Some might even be wondering if they're worthy of being Squires. Since they complain, and you don’t.”
Shon’s steps faltered. Would they really think he was more worthy than them? For something so trivial as chores? He had to rush to catch up and argued, “But there's no point in complaining. We have to do it anyway.”
Veon-Zih sighed and stopped walking. He waited for Shon to turn to him then said, “But my statement still stands. Joint misery creates companionship. Your fellows take a risk in voicing their complaints to you, hoping that they're not alone in their opinions. What if they're the only ones who hate it? What if that really does mean they aren’t meant for the Temple? Just because they can channel divine magic doesn’t mean Hengist will choose them.”
Shon let himself ponder that for a while. The other Squires always seemed so sure of themselves, so excited to begin real training. Did they really have doubts and fears the same as he did? And what did that say about his assumptions? That they would complain and the knights didn’t? Was he actually judging his fellows as unworthy without realizing it?
“The Paladins really complained when they were Squires too?” he asked.
“I guarantee it.” Veon-Zih answered and started walking again, “I know I did, and all the other Monks in my class too.” he chuckled, “Sometimes routines like cleaning and polishing can be meditative. You can let your mind wander while your hands work through the familiar motions. But before you get to that point, or if you would rather be doing something of your choosing, then it's nothing but monotonous work. Necessary work, but still work.”
Following Veon-Zih around another corner, Shon pondered his Master’s words. They got all the way to the little eatery the Monk had been looking for, even took their seats, and gave their orders before Shon spoke again.
“I hate platemail the most…” he said. Veon-Zih arched an eyebrow at him, and he continued, “It’s bulky, and there's just so much of it. Then as soon as you're done, someone moves it aside and gets fingerprints on it again. Chainmail isn’t much better. You can’t see the fingerprints, but it’s hard to get the oil between the links. And yet water obviously has no problem with it because that’s where all the rust is.”
Veon-Zih laughed boisterously, throwing his head back and startling those at the closest table, “I hated the creases in the palms of the statues the most,” Veon-Zih held up his hand, his forefinger and thumb forming a circle, the other fingers extended, “how can so much dust cake itself in such a small space in only a day?” he complained, dropping his hand and shaking his head.
The waitress brought them their stew and drinks, and Shon started eating while Veon-Zih thanked her. Picking up his spoon, the Monk paused as he dipped it into his bowl, musing, “I wonder which parts your fellow Squires dislike the most?” Shon didn’t know, but he wanted to. Would they agree with him that the plate was the most frustrating? Daisy seemed to groan loudest at the leather, but their complaining always seemed to be general moans at the work as a whole…
“Maybe I’ll ask,” Shon mumbled, embarrassed for some reason.
“Or,” Veon-Zih took his first bite, then pointed at Shon with his spoon, “you could just tell them your least favorite, and they will open up and share their own.”
That’s what they expected of him, wasn’t it? They expected him to join in the conversation, not just answer questions… Shon could only nod.
***
Shon had grown so much. It was difficult for Veon-Zih to watch him without smiling. Only a head shorter than his Master, Veon-Zih could still see the ten-year-old oddity he'd spied upon almost four years ago in the church courtyard. And yet, he had grown so much. Veon-Zih wondered if anyone else could see it.
They practiced in one of the parks in the noble’s district. Veon-Zih thought it was important that Shon get out of Temple whenever possible, that he see the city and its people, to remember what he was training for, and why he wanted to fight. Shon was more like Veon-Zih, and his order of Monks than the boy would ever know. Or admit. He strove for perfection. Every punch, kick, and kata they worked through needed to go exactly right, or he would do it again. Like many Monks, Shon found true enjoyment in the process of working and growing better than his past self. But he was also different in a critical way. Shon wanted to use his strength. Wanted to protect people, fight evil. Many Monks never left the Monastery. A single Grandmaster could easily fell a small raiding force alone. Yet, so many chose not to fight outside their sparring rings and training.
Even Veon-Zih hadn’t left the Monastery because he wanted to help those locked outside its walls. He'd left because he believed he couldn't attain the perfection he strove for inside them. He'd wanted to be tested by the world, to rise to the challenges life presented and overcome them with his discipline and practice. Along the way, he'd learned to be more like Shon was naturally. He'd made friends from other orders, and saved countless non-combatants. Only after seeing the results of his fights, the grateful families reunited, had he realized the moral folly in his fellows and in himself.
They practiced and even sparred until well after fifth bell. The display at first earned them a few disapproving glares from the nobles and servants passing the park. Then they'd actually attracted a few spectators, who clapped as though watching a show. Shon blushed furiously at this, his pale cheeks growing pink as he tilted his head down, trying to let what was left of his now short hair slip down to hide his face. Yet, he never lost step or stopped the training. Veon-Zih had barely resisted laughing, though if more at the foolish watchers or his embarrassed student, he wasn’t sure.
Veon-Zih finally called their training to a halt, and Shon glowered at him. The boy had nearly gotten in his first solid hit in their sparring and was obviously reluctant to stop after making such progress. “It’s nearly time for you to get back, and Sir Rasnah will not accept me as an excuse for tardiness.” Shon’s eyes went wide, and fear replaced the look of frustration on his face. He ran his fingers through his hair, looking up at the sky to try and gauge the hour.
Veon-Zih chuckled, “I’ll race you back.” he said, a hint of mischief seeping through his voice. Shon arched an eyebrow and Veon-Zih could practically hear his thoughts. Run? Through town? You must be joking. “There's no law against running,” Veon-Zih argued with the boy’s expression, “Every moment offers us an opportunity to train. We're late, so this is the perfect opportunity to test our speed against time and run.”
Shon alternated his arched brow to the other side, looking down the road then back to Veon-Zih before confirming, “A race?”
In answer, Veon-Zih ran. He sprinted past Shon -though not at his full speed- before slowing down just enough to keep things fair. Shon bolted after him. Nobles, servants, and even a few guards gasped and called out in indignation as Veon-Zih and Shon swerved around them on the wide roads of the nobles' quarter. They were forced to slow when they reached the more densely packed streets in the city center. Shon was careful to run around the people doing their shopping but kept his eyes set ahead, planning his route and scaring those who noticed him out of the way with his intense blue stare. Veon-Zih was much more confident in his ability not to hit people and so brushed much closer, never quite knocking into them but often brushing their clothes as he passed.
Ahead a cart laden with crates and barrels ambled across the thoroughfare, and Shon slowed to a jog, trying to run around it. Veon-Zih lept, landing on his hands on the cart and propelling himself up and over before hitting the ground again and continuing the race. He heard the merchant curse and the bystanders gasp in surprise but was more amused at the growl of frustration that came from his student, who put on an extra burst of speed to try and catch up. Veon-Zih was half tempted to let him and half tempted to sprint all out and leave the boy in his dust. He chose to do neither and just laughed, continuing at the pace he'd set and soon coming into view of the Temple gates.
The Paladins on watch saw him coming and exchanged confused and nervous glances, drawing their swords but not barring his path. Veon-Zih didn’t slow his run until he reached the knights. Turning to the side and planting his feet, he slid past them on the cobblestones. Turning back as he slid to a stop, he found one of the Paladins facing him as though ready to fight and the other facing out as though looking for whatever force had sent Veon-Zih sprinting for the Temple.
Shon slowed to a jog and stopped before the knight facing him, breathing hard. “What’s going on? Squire report.” the Paladin demanded, still holding his sword at the ready.
Shon had to take a moment to catch his breath but eventually managed to gasp out, “Race…” before looking absolutely horrified at what he'd just done and said. “Sir…” he added quietly as if that might somehow make his unconventional arrival more acceptable.
“And you managed to keep up with him?” Sir Rasnah appeared from beyond the gate, arching a steely eyebrow and drawing sharp salutes from the Paladin guards who finally sheathed their swords.
“I went easy on him,” Veon-Zih assured her, earning a glare from Shon, who passed through the gates, still breathing deeply but no longer gasping for air. Veon-Zih hadn’t even broken a sweat.
Rasnah looked between the Master and student, finally settling on Shon, “Oh, don’t look at him like that, Squire. Master Veon-Zih could beat a riderless horse in a foot race.” which drew a befuddled look from Shon and a laugh from Veon-Zih.
“General Rasnah, Sir,” another man ran towards the gates wearing the uniform of an enlisted. A messenger from the city gates.
“It seems today is a good day for running,” Veon-Zih quipped as the guards allowed the man to pass and give his report.
“A wyvern has been spotted over the woods near Lakeland,”
Sir Rasnah didn’t respond right away. She narrowed her eyes at the messenger and spoke to Shon, “You have duties, Squire, hop to it.”
Shon saluted, though Rasnah still wasn’t looking at him. He glanced at Veon-Zih curiously, then turned to follow the orders.
Veon-Zih hesitated but decided to follow Shon. If he was needed, Rasnah would let him know.
“A wyvern?” Shon asked in a whisper.
“An abomination,” Veon-Zih explained, “Monstrous beasts with a body as large as a wagon, not including the tail. They fly like birds and will hunt anything that strays into their territory, including humans.”
Shon’s brow furrowed, and Veon-Zih patted him on the shoulder, “It'll be alright. They rarely attack settlements unless they're starving.” Which was good because a single wyvern could destroy a small town.
“What will the Temple do?” Shon asked as they reached the back door to the kitchens.
“That depends… most likely, they'll send a group to the village and watch the skies.”
“They won’t hunt it?”
“Maybe, and maybe not. Wyverns are dangerous enough that it’s a real risk to hunt one, but they also can’t be allowed to harm nearby towns. The Temple of Saint Giorgos will want it destroyed, but Sir Rasnah won’t needlessly risk her men if it isn’t necessary.” Veon-Zih explained.
Shon thought for a moment, then asked, “Have you ever fought a wyvern?”
Veon-Zih tried to make his smile reassuring, "Twice. Though I would rather not try a third time if it can be avoided.”
***
“Red, what're you doing?” Ran asked.
She rolled Her eyes, focusing again on what She was doing and not bothering to answer him. Her fingers ached, but She worked them into the cracks between the stones of the tower wall, shifting Her weight from one hand to the other and searching out the next handhold.
Brom laughed, and She heard the slap and woosh of breath as he pat Ran on the back hard enough to knock the air from the thinner man’s lungs, “Can’t you tell? She’s climbing!”
“Sort of…” Ran mumbled.
She wasn’t climbing up the wall, as much as She wanted to. Instead, She was up only about a foot off the ground and working Her way sideways around the tower. “Afraid of falling, Red?” Ran asked instead. That question was even more stupid than the last, and She arched Her neck back, holding tight to the wall and looking at him upside down.
“Really?” She asked in response to his denseness. He should know She wouldn’t be afraid of falling. She had fallen many times when She'd braved climbing the trees around the perimeter. Even broke Her arm once, and that hadn’t stopped Her from trying again with the splint still on. But that was when they used to let Her out more often, about once every other week. No, the thing that kept Her from climbing up the wall was the same thing that had stopped Her climbing trees. The same thing that stopped Her running around the tower at top speed while Brom or Ran kept time and She tried to beat Her record. And the same thing that kept Her from even crossing the tree line to play pretend in the woods.
Ran had the decency to look embarrassed, realizing his mistake eventually. There was only one thing that ever stopped Her from doing what She wanted, and even that often took multiple ‘lessons’ each time. Morndancer had grown increasingly erratic and more often violent of late. He would mutter to himself in draconic then give opposite orders to the journeymen and apprentices in common. Though everyone in the tower spoke both languages. He would lock himself in his room for days and hadn’t been back to visit his family or the Mages Guild in weeks. Shaloon would cover for him, but she wasn’t much better, cutting holes in reality and staring into the outer plains for hours on end, whispering. Half her words in draconic and the other half in common, mixing the languages in the same sentence.
Brom and Ran had refused to talk to Her about it, but She had listened at Her door when they thought She was sleeping. The Archmages were going mad. The eventual cost of power, they said. Though neither seemed upset that the same would happen to them eventually. Perhaps their lack of concern was the first sign they'd already started.
She continued Her climb, putting Her worries about Brom and Ran’s sanity out of Her mind for the time being. She would have plenty of time to stew about it when She was locked in Her room. For now, She wanted to enjoy being outside in the brief summer warmth.
A burst of sudden wind from above set Her hair whipping about Her face and nearly cost Her grip on the stones. Squeezing Her eyes shut, She tried to shake Her hair back, blowing at the strands against another huge gust before something heavy shook the ground behind her. She let Her head fall back again, so Her hair fell away from Her face, and She could see what had come upside down. The sight caused Her to fall off the wall.
Landing hard on Her backside, She scrambled to Her feet in a mix of awe and horror. A monster large enough to fill Her entire room and then some, stood in the clearing around the tower. It had a long sinuous neck and dull brown scales. It walked on great taloned legs in the back and the joints of its leathery wings in the front. It snapped at Archmage Shaloon as she jumped from its neck to the ground, its teeth as long as daggers and looking just as sharp. It didn’t bite the Archmage, who ignored it as she approached the journeymen.
“What are you three doing out here?” she demanded, mixing draconic with common and glaring at the two men who, for some reason, looked ashamed despite the permission they'd gotten to be out today.
The Firewyrm ignored the question, asking one of Her own, “What is that?” She pointed at the monster, not sure if She felt sad or disgusted at the sight of it. Both seemed odd emotions to have at the sight of a beast that could eat Her in two bites.
Fingers snapped, and She flinched, reaching for Her collar. The monster let out a strangled roar, thrashing its head wildly, its own copper collar shimmering with light and magic. “Another failure of our predecessors, thousands of years ago.” Morndancer exited the tower, his robes billowing around him.
Another snap, and the Firewyrm flinched again. But Shaloon just snorted, sneering at the other Archmage after stopping his torment of her mount, “The north-western Talon was gracious enough to lend us this sample after years of training. It should come in handy with the local draken who worship its kind as gods.” the beast snarled at the humans just out of reach but didn’t step any closer, digging its talons deeper into the ground and hissing, “It was a great success after the slaying. We’ve only had one greater.” she glanced at the Firewyrm who tilted Her head at the two of them, curious for more but sure they wouldn’t give it to Her.
Archmage Morndancer dismissed the defense of the monster’s existence with a snort, “And yet we are still facing the same problems as those before us. What information do you have?”
“A storm hit out at sea, and there are signs of another possibly brewing in Halakon.”
Ran swallowed nervously, and Brom stuttered, “Should we…?”
“No.” Morndancer answered the unfinished question, “There is only one thing that can stop these storms, and we are the only ones willing to make the sacrifices to do it.” he turned away from them, returning to the tower door before glancing over his shoulder, “Get back inside, we need more samples if we are to make up for our own successful failure.”
***
“Saint Giorgos says the wyverns are the last vestiges of the dragon’s evil in the skies…” Sir Rasnah sipped her tea thoughtfully.
Father Branston snorted, “Yes yes, and drakes are their evil on land, and leviathans their evil at sea. They are beasts, Rasnah, as old as memory.”
“Branston's right,” Veon-Zih shrugged, rolling his teacup between his hands, “They're terrible beasts with some magic to them, but they're no more intelligent than a drakwalf or horse.”
They sat together in Father Branston’s office to enjoy warm tea and a colorful sunset through his massive windows. But none of them could really relax with the news of a wyvern flying around the woods to the north. Just to the west of Hamerfoss.
“They've been known to hunt for sport,” Rasnah reminded them, her face pained at the memory.
“So do house cats.”
“House cats don’t pick off entire barbarian tribes over the course of a week.”
"I'm sure they would if they could,"
Branston sighed, reaching for his teapot and pouring himself another cup, “What will you do? If you need healers, I have a few skilled enough to go.”
Rasnah sighed, rubbing her forehead and resting her cup in her lap, “Perhaps one. I’ll send a group to watch. If it's sighted again, we'll have to do something.”
Veon-Zih cleared his throat to get her attention and arched a questioning eyebrow her way. The Paladin returned the look with a smile and said, “I will make sure they have a sending stone. If you're needed, I’m sure they'll wait for you to arrive before seeking it out.” her smile faded, and she stared into her cup, “If they really are vestiges of dragons then I suppose Saint Giorgos is right and all of them were evil.”
“Having a crisis of faith, Rasnah?” Branston asked softly, but with a smile, “Legends say Hengist was allied with goodly dragons.”
“Dragons of Gold and Silver and all the precious metals,” Veon-Zih finished for him, then added, “None of that matters anymore. All we can do is face the challenges life presents us with in the here and now.”
“Of course,” Rasnah agreed, looking up at her old friends and managing a lopsided grin, “And now we have a wyvern possibly claiming territory in our forests. Do you think Daunas will want to join the hunt? If necessary,” she added at the end.
“Mung's boy? He’s still stationed at Hamerfoss then?” Branston asked.
Veon-Zih chuckled, “I don’t believe he would forgive you if you didn’t let him.” his chuckle died, and the three gazed mournfully out the window. Remembering their last wyvern fight, and their friend lost in bringing it down. It had been their last adventure together.
-End of Part 1-
--- Table of Contents ---
All comments and are welcome and wanted.

I guess this post calls for a little backstory. My Kobold alchemist, Snoutbroth, is the emissary of a tribe of kobolds living near to humans. They've allied with eachother and the adventuring group he is a part of has been mending and building relations with the surrounding races to help stand against the tide of evil blah blah blah.
You get the jist. The highlight of his adventures, so far, has easily been his encounter with Riggnorg, a dragon who was trapped in an extra planer library for a few millennial. Riggnorg is a gold dragon, and as such believes that the kobolds are slaves that should find their own way, that the chromatic dragons should not be worshipped and all that. He is also very reluctant to assist Snoutbroth any further than giving him some budding advice as he views being a 'master' to be abhorrent.
This has obviously severely confused Snoutbroth and now he's in a tizzy trying to figure out the best course of action for his people, and the best method to do so.
Recently though, Snoutbroth has come into possession of an Efreeti bottle. A genie in a lamp for those not in-the-know.
This is a major deal for him. He knows he should speak with the party about it, the implications of such a powerful magical being would be huge for the party, but it could also be a massive step for the kobolds to become independent of their draconic slave masters and establish themselves as a respected race in the realms and force for good in the world.
My question to you is, how the hell do I go about this?
Should I ascend my kobold to be a dragon(born)? Have the kobolds be freed from their bonds (both theological and cognitive)
I know SB's next move will probably be to speak to Riggnorg about his predicament (IE, get my DM to give me some options) but I really need some help coming up with ways to solve this very unique problem.
As people who love Kobolds, I was hoping we'd be able to put ourselves in their shoes and suggest some big things that a kobold would wish for.

Greetings, fellow gamers of Reddit! Today, I want to dive into the world of ERC standards for NFTs and hear your thoughts on which ones resonate with you the most. We all know that NFTs have revolutionized the gaming industry, and different ERC standards have played a crucial role in shaping this exciting landscape.
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So, gamers, I'm excited to hear about your favorite ERC standards for NFTs! Share your thoughts, experiences, and why these standards have captured your attention. Let's embark on this journey together and unlock the full potential of NFT gaming!
Looking forward to your contributions. Game on!

Alathra: New Frontiers
A Worldbuilding, Geopolitical, Light Roleplay Server.
IP: play.alathramc.com
Discord: https://discord.gg/wfdNAYQv
Website: https://alathramc.com/index.htm
Alathra is one of the top searched and played world building server in the world! Maybe you are looking to join one of the grand towns and nations across Alathra. Maybe you want to start your own in undeveloped land. Perhaps your goal is to master trade and become a wealthy merchant. What about starting your own player-run guild, or starting a new religion? Maybe you just want to be a hermit and live alone on a mountain.
All of this is possible on Alathra because here players tell the story. Alathra is full of characters, nations, cultures, and organizations. Many battles and wars have been fought. There are heroes, there are villains, and plenty that fall somewhere in between. Will you make your mark on the history of Alathra? Start your journey today!
Key Features
Towny
Create towns and cities with your friends or join an existing one. With Towny you can claim areas to build safely and store your items. Start a large nation with sprawling cities or create a small farming village. The sky is the limit!
Lore, RP & Worldbuilding
One of the key gameplay aspects of Alathra is its lore, roleplay (RP) and geopolitics. The community is constantly creating captivating lore and RP including player-run organizations, events, and religions, as well as conflicts and wars. In Alathra you can create your own unique story, which is bound to intertwine with the stories of others.
Custom World
The map of Alathra is completely custom, designed from scratch using a combination of tools to encourage exploration trade and geopolitics. The world consists of continents separated by oceans and is divided into four temperature zones. Along with enhancements to vanilla biomes, the map also includes many new biomes such as red sand deserts, tropical beaches, calcite mountains, giant spruce forests, mangrove islands, prairies, steppes and more! There are also landmarks that can be found throughout the map including volcanoes, salt flats and underground rivers.
Custom Plugins
Alathra has its own dedicated team of developers who are consistently develop new plugins and features that give Alathra a unique feel that we guarantee you won't find on other servers. Some examples include lockpicking, a custom war system, character cards, medieval weapons, a fast travel port system, regional resources and so much more!
Movecraft
Movecraft is a plugin that allows you to create moveable ships, from small fishing boats to large Man o' Wars! Fill your ships with chests for trade or line them with cannons for war. The version of Movecraft Alathra uses is also specifically written and configured to allow for naval combat.
Brewing
The Brewery plugin allows you to create many different interesting brews as well as the many custom brews that have been made by players. Become your town's barkeeper! Experiment to see how many of hundreds of custom brews you can discover.