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hermitfic-ao3 · 4 months

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recs:

You Could've Applied Online (archiveofourown.org/works/47834815) - a brilliant work (and series), everyone should read it, it's that good

The New ConVex (archiveofourown.org/works/24511930) - a fun take on the convex and S7

the last days of the free angel of carrows (archiveofourown.org/works/41524917) - a really really good urban fantasy au

You Could’ve Applied Online by Anonymous

Rating: M

Warnings: Graphic Depictions of Violence

Pairings: Etho/Bdoubleo100 (Kind of…), SolidarityGaming/TangoTek, Smallishbeans/LDShadowLady

Summary:

“Twelve hours? Where do you work that makes you work twelve hours straight?” Bdubs asked incredulously. “Wait no. No we can’t pick this up! We’re talking about murder here!”

“Yeah, and now I'm gonna have to find a new roommate because of this. You owe me. Maybe tomorrow won't work. Let's schedule it out for…next week?”

Bdubs stuttered over his words, hand holding the knife tensing around the handle as he looked around the room. Was he being pranked? Did Scar do this? He couldn’t think of another conversation that had confused him more than this. Etho’s eyes crinkled around the edges, mouth subtly changing into what Bdubs imagined was a smile as he felt irritation creep into his mind. “You’re joking right now.”

Another shift under the mask. He was definitely smiling now. “How’d you guess?”

Or: Bdubs kills someone (on purpose), makes people angry (NOT on purpose), and somehow gets a boyfriend in the process. Or was he a bodyguard? Bdubs doesn't really know himself.

Oh, and Etho just wants to pay his rent on time. Preferably without another dead roommate.

mod note: this fic is so delightful. i am absolutely OBSESSED with this fic. it’s a modern with magic AU/hitman au/alien AU it’s genuinely so so so good!

-mod nox 🌙

The New ConVex by LeopardMask

Rating: G

Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply

Summary:

The Vex sighed. Their old subjects had abandoned the cause, in this new world. Granted, they had essentially let the subjects go, with no new goals assigned, but now the Vex were bored. They wanted someone to play with.

Of course... there were 20-odd other people in this world. It could be time for some... recruitment.

the last days of the free angel carrows by Bee_4

Rating: T

Warnings: Graphic Depictions of Violence

Summary:The Atsign Agency: run by Joe Hills and the zombie Cleo, they're here to solve all of your supernatural problems, hauntings, magical accidents, and also just about any contracting work or errands you need if you're willing to have it done cheaply by two unqualified odd jobbers struggling to make rent. After over a decade together in the city of Carrows, the two of them frequently see things and deal with things that are probably a bit too ridiculous to name, and have the experience to handle it, if not particularly frequently the money.

When the mysterious (and clearly very rich) Pearl Moon walks into their agency, offering them a massive payment for a simple job, what are they to do but accept?

Yeah, they may be about to regret that one. This job is going to be anything but simple, and the entire City of Angels may be at stake. Careful, Atsign Agency: the past is watching.

mod note: only tagging the main characters/pairings for the first and the last fic, the middle one has a lot of cameos of different hermits and i don’t want to clog the tags :)

#mods favorite #ethoslab #bdoubleo100 #ethubs #team ranchers #jizzie #joe hills #zombie cleo #pearlescentmoon #hermitcraft ensemble

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the-starry-seas · 2 months

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for however many ocs as you wanna answer this for

alone: How does your OC deal with loneliness? Have they ever been completely alone before? How do they act when there's no one around to see them?

oh good I get to talk about clones to you, you will regret this

Nox: That's the neat part, they don't. Memes aside, they've never been completely alone (I mean, you try finding true solitude when you're one of millions of clones, yeesh). Also they're clingy and if they are alone they will change that pronto because they can't stand that shit, they cannot be alone, not physically capable. And the way they act around others, and when it's just themself, is pretty much the same! They're annoying, affectionate, and fond of making random and/or loud noises for no good reason. Just sitting by themself on the floor, quacking like a duck to see if they're good at it, putting some of their neon pink hair dye in Harlow's shampoo.

Tally: He fucking freaks. He's also never been alone (re: millions of clones) and he hates the silence and stillness. He needs background noise, he needs people around, he starts feeling real weird if he's not directly in sight of at least two or three other people, clones or not. He does a lot of nervous pacing when he's alone, because he doesn't like it and when do Nox and Harlow come back, this sucks. But there are times where he likes to chill and read a book while listening to whatever noisy nonsense is going on in the barracks.

Harlow: He stays level-headed because if he doesn't, who will? He's a lieutenant and that means he does not have the luxury of emotional distress (lol. lmao even.) or panicking over things. He doesn't mind being alone, in and of itself, but it does tend to make him a little bit nervous these days because if he's not there to tell Nox to behave, what the fuck are they up to now? Who's gonna protect his shinies if he's not there? But if he has someone to babysit them, he's doing a full spa day with cucumber slices and harp music and everything.

Blue: He likes being alone for short periods of time because it gives him some quiet and peace. He needs something to focus on though so it's like, idle games and crosswords to keep him occupied instead of meditation-style quiet. Loneliness, on the other hand, is different from being alone and he hates that shit. He gets restless and mopey and he just wants his idiot siblings back because they're his anchor even if they also often drive him nuts. I think being in stasis for thirty years counts as being completely alone? He did not care for that shit at all, he would do anything to not have to face that again.

Ember: He tries to make himself very small when he's alone so that nobody notices him. Being alone scares him because he knows that he'll be decommissioned if the GAR ever finds out that he can't hear any more. Even after getting away from them, old habits die hard, and being alone means not being with his family, so he'd really just rather not. So when he is alone, like Tally, he's nervous (but he freezes up instead of pacing). He likes being alone with his husband there are many benefits to being married to a marine biologist because they're adorable and Cam will play with his hair and infodump about their mutual favourite animal, the cownose stingray. (bonus camber picrew from a few years ago when kmerolzzzz's was still around)

Star: Being completely alone makes him shut down. He's a Force-sensitive clone and the Kaminoans were hellbent on reproducing that so he often got pulled out of training for tests and experiments. Being alone, to him, means he's going to be a lab rat again and probably hurt somehow along the way. He prefers being alone with one or two others, also preferably clones. Namely Winter who's the oldest of the squad and also their father figure, they call him buir and everything. He naps a lot when he's alone with a friend, chronic fatigue and all. But when it's just him and his squad, he's also more open with his facial expressions and looks them in the eyes more (GAR Jedi tended to be uh, less than kind when seeing a Force sensitive clone with golden eyes, he doesn't look strangers in the eyes very often).

Silver and Sky: A package deal. If they're not together, the world is ending. They've been inseparable from the moment they were ‘born’ less than a minute apart and everyone calls them the twins, so while most clones have an answer of "never been completely alone due to millions of clones", they've barely ever been out of each others' sight for more than five minutes. Shelter cat bonded, through and through. They're always grinning in cahoots about something, love that for them <3 They stay silly, whether they're on their own, or with the rest of the squad. They're well aware that they're disposable weapons, but they're also twins, and as long as twins have each other, what could go wrong? They stick together even more closely when it's just them because it's all about protecting each other.

#don't look at my 'crossword answer bank' of tags down here it's fine don't worry about it #ghost squad #ct nox #ct tally #cl harlow #the aces #cs blue #ct ember #clone force m #ct star #ct silver #ct sky

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todayimgonnaplay · 6 months

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Today I'm Gonna Play: Ys IX: Monstrum Nox

I've seen Ys pop up often as people's top JRPGs. I've never played them before, so I jumped into the latest entry blind to what this series offers.

Talking of combat first, the first thing this game reminded me of was Tales of Arise; having skills by pressing button combinations, dodging, on screen encounters, and having a party based system where you could switch characters. It felt extremely snappy and satisfying, and I loved unlocking new skills be it from getting them as I fight, or from shops. It's an easy system that's fast-paced which is also great when you want to play something simple and shut your brain off for a bit.

There are also raids included, which have a tower defense mechanism to ensure you survive hordes of enemies while protecting a crystal, or to collect X number of item in a time limit. It gets quite chaotic but is manageable with the use of upgrades. This adds a nice variety to combat so that it does not get monotonous. Aside from that, the game seems to have a superpower motif going on, allowing you to traverse in different ways such as parkouring or gliding, or accessing hard to get places, as well as some combat abilities. It was an unexpected but fun touch.

The best qualities I've seen in this game are more finer details that add to the overall Quality of Life. One being how the map system functions. You're able to get a view of your current area AND look at the region map, in which you can look at other area maps because why not, all with the press of a button or two. . The game really encourages exploration in a great way by rewarding you with fast travel unlocks, and new shops or quests. What surprised me the most was that the minimap leaves a decently sized trail as you move around, making backtracking easy as well as marking where you've already been in case the dungeons or areas look the same-ish (or if you're feeling a bit forgetful at the time of playing). It's spoiled the way I see maps for JRPGs in a good way, and I'd love to see more games like this. The second detail I loved was the amount of customization in settings, ranging from gameplay to HUDs, giving the player freedom to truly explore or to be guided. And lastly, being able to save at anytime is quite a game-changer. It's not always easy to find time to game, and priorities are there to handle in real life, so having this feature came in super handy.

The story seems somewhat simple and straightforward. It's quite innocent and doesn't get too deep until the latter half of the game. I'm actually quite surprised how deep the game gets into its lore and politics, and it was simple enough to understand without playing the previous games. There's a nice variety in cast, and side quests actually add lore to them rather than being usual fetch or escort quests.

I also find the character designs to be a plus, most of them are designed quite well without the reliance of fanservice. It was a breath of fresh air! However I did find Renegade's design to be underwhelming with such a muted colour palette. It does fit his personality a bit, perhaps.

Some negatives are the graphical quality of this game. It's the latest entry released just a few years ago, yet it looks much older, and very bland in terms of colour. I had fun exploring the city of Balduq and was amazed at the size and depth of the place, but it definitely lacked some colour or variety that made the place truly interesting. Midway I stopped to look at previous entries' graphics and felt that Ys 8 somehow looked better, but I also read a bit about the developer and didn't realize their impact towards the genre, and that they seem to make more budgeted titles, so I can give this a pass.

Another negative is the music, most songs fit, but only about 2 tracks truly caught my ears, while the rest sound quite generic and akin to typical melodies I would hear in budget JRPGs.

Overall, the game was truly an enjoyable adventure to experience, and I even felt a little sad as I reached the end, bonding with the cast and the city. I'm looking forward to future titles and may check out 8!

youtube

#game analysis #ys #ys ix #ys ix monstrum nox #ys 9 #ys 9 monstrum nox #nihon falcom #jrpg games #Youtube

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secret-engima · 4 years

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/I love it/. I read Nocturne too and the twists with the taur au you're doing is fantastic. I love how everyone seems to be more horrified in this AU than in the main Nox verse. Which I kind of get, more signs of "abuse" to actually, y' know, /see/ than in Nox verse prime. Because from what I've seen in the Nox verse is that are 2 idiots are very good at masking in their original universe. Less so when they have brand new instincts and from what I understand, no pants to hide the scars.

Glad you enjoyed! I have occasionally been bitten by the ‘taur bunny before, but this time it was just ... too strong to resist. XPP

Yeah the abuse is way more obvious because in Nox verse main they can LIE much easier because they at least know the social expectations and can dress in lots of layers. Here they can’t really do that near as much because of their visible scars, panicky instincts, and a TOTAL LACK OF UNDERSTANDING on ... how taurs function. Just - how function? What food is safe food? What social norms? How sleep? (Nox and Ardyn have never seen a dragon nest, and when attempting to describe a “normal bed” Regis somehow comes to the conclusion they were forced to sleep on chairs and couches all their lives rather than a proper, relaxing, plushy nest with room to wiggle and flop wings and snuggle family and Regis is a Horror). They also don't know about sunning themselves and they willingly bound their wings which is a big, very painful, borderline self-harm no-no so....

Also out of guilt, Nox eats beans once and ends up in the medical wing because FUN FACT dragontaurs are, as a general rule, HIGHLY ALLERGIC TO BEANS. Nox just weakly mumbled how “he” always insisted beans were good for him and made him eat them as a kid, so he was just trying to be a healthy adult. Regis is

H O R R I F I E D

Ardyn holds up his hands and says it wasn’t him, that was before Nox was in his care.

Also no, no pants to hide scars because ... frankly I think wrestling on pants for ALL FOUR LEGS (plus wings in LC cases) would be way too much trouble for everyday life. Nope- it’s torsos and the transition area between human and ‘taur parts that gets dressed except in really formal occassions, and even then no pants. Taurs go with kimino/toga type stuff that drapes and leaves legs free and tails untangled. So yeah, more scars are visible.

#SE asks #belle-of-the-battle asks #Nox verse #Nox!Taur verse #Secret Engima Rambles

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secret-engima · 5 years

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Oo! For your Nox verse you mentioned Axis and now I'm all ears for anything you're willing to talk about for the Kingsglaives. Is Axis Nox's assigned guard? Does Noctis have one he's close with like you hinted Arra is for Nox? Does Regis assign *Ardyn* a glaive? It might give more reason for him to interact with Titus? Just what is the Kingsglaive in general's reaction to the chancellor being not that bad actually and basically defecting to Lucis?

(cracks knuckles) Anon. ANON. Kingsglaive are a fav okay? I am always willing to talk about them. ALWAYS. In this AU though, Axis is not actually a glaive. The Kingsglaive was only formed a few months after Nox and Ardyn time-traveled, and Nox met him sometime not long after arriving in the past, so Axis was wandering around taking Hunts to get by. Axis, upon meeting Nox “I’m going to single-handed blow up ALL the Nif’s stuff” Izunia ended up tagging along a few times and then just … never really stopped. Be ends up becoming Nox’s official Shield after Nox is discovered by Regis, but honestly considered himself that well before (because someone has to keep these moron, and his uncle by extension, alive). Nox gets to know the rest of the galahdians through Axis after he’s discovered.

For the rest of the glaives (who are actual glaives in this), Noctis … I don’t think he has a particular favorite? Nox starts dragging Noctis down to the glaive HQ to “train” with them (read: play with them and endear himself to them) so Noctis kinda ends up adopted en masse by these guys (though honestly Tredd might glom onto being Noctis’s buddy/reckless older bro just to spite Axis, because how DARE his buddy in crime get his own LC and not share with Tredd?). Regis assigns the Kingsglaive and the Crownsguard in rotation to guard Ardyn because Chancellor of Niflheim, but Ardyn’s trolling tendency weeds out 98% of the Crownsguard pretty fast (Ardyn: ”It’s not my fault they can’t take a joke!”). Titus, being also Glauca (and secretly Ardyn’s newest minion) tends to volunteer himself after the first five trolling sprees just to keep this moron (who is also somehow his boss, Astrals save him) from driving the entire Citadel nuts.

For your last question. Hmmmm (straps on HC hat) warning this is gonna be LONG:

-Nobody in the glaive is happy when they learn that the Chancellor of Niflheim is a guest (actual guest, not prisoner) in the Citadel. The fact that he’s going to remain a guest for the indefinite future because their King apparently had a kid with the Chancellor’s sister just makes it worse. Nobody is happy and some Potentially Traitorous Things are often mumbled half-heartedly over their alcohol in the first few days when only the Crownsguard are allowed near him (mostly just different ways of calling Regis an idiot, nothing actually harmful or murderous). The glaive however, don’t think the Crownsguard are going to stay Ardyn’s primary keepers for long. Not just because of their general disdain for the organization that prefers to hide behind the Wall rather than fight, but because all of them saw Captain’s face when Ardyn’s arrival was announced. It was the same face he wore the last time the Nifs unleashed a trio of Behemoths onto the field. The one that screamed “Damage Control Inbound” and “This is Going to Become Our Problem and We’re All Collectively Doomed”.

-Then they actually start getting assigned to the man and he’s … nothing like what they were expecting. There is no brilliant tactician, no cunning, poison-tongue politician. No enemy infiltrating their second home using his own nephew as leverage. There’s just a man in tacky clothes and the world’s Dumbest Hat who hides from the irate doctors who insist he needs medical intervention for his weight and general health problems Right Now and only lets Captain or his nephew bully him into eating more than a single meal per day. There’s just an uncle who teases his nephew mercilessly but never lets the boy get lost in his own head (which is too easy for the kid to do, they all recognize the signs of Battle Trauma) and dotes on their crown prince like he’s a long lost nephew rather than the son of the Lucian king.

-There’s just a very, very tired soul who they sometimes find in the Hall of Arts, staring up at the picture of the Founder King and First Oracle with deceptively blank expression and a faintly cracking voice as he sings something Ancient that sounds like a lullaby for all they can’t understand the words, swaying to the melody of his own song like he’ll topple and shatter the moment someone puts pressure on the wrong place.

-Nyx is the first one other than Captain to find him like that, and for all he wants to hate the man who represents Niflheim (represents the empire that burned Galahd and killed his sister), he instead finds himself coaxing Ardyn away from the Hall with gentle words and steady hands, just like he would any of his brother or sister glaives. Nyx mentions it to Captain later, which is how he and the others learn that this isn’t an uncommon occurrence. That they should keep him away from the Hall of Arts if they can.

-It’s the first sign that Ardyn isn’t a vicious leader of monsters playing nice to trick an enemy, but a broken, tired man using his nephew as an excuse to finally escape his glittering cage of “Chancellor”.

-None of them are quite sure what to make of that, so they watch, they listen, they learn. …They get attached. Grudgingly. One prank and melodramatic smile and accidentally witnessed quiet moment at a time. There are a lot of sides to Ardyn Izunia, like the individual fragments of a broken mirror, and somehow the glaives keep being allowed to stumble on them. Somehow they keep getting attached to the shards, one by one and moment by moment without realizing that Ardyn is getting attached in return.

-Until one day, on a good day when Ardyn is wearing his Cheerful, Melodramatic Self and the glaives are hiding their snickers in the corners as they follow him like shadows, two of the King’s Council meet him in the halls. Look down their noses with contemptuous eyes, just like they do the glaives themselves and (in that uniquely flowery way only politicians can) start insulting Ardyn under the guise of casual conversation. They watch, seething despite themselves, as Ardyn takes it, smiles through it, tilts his head like he doesn’t know exactly what they are doing. Libertus finally ducks out of the shadows, bites out some made up excuse of Ardyn’s presence being requested by Cor (the councilmen wouldn’t prevent the Marshal’s orders from being followed and wouldn’t ask him about it later and discover the lie), grinds his teeth when the two councilmen turn their flowery poison on Libertus and the Kingsglaive (the Galahdian refugees) as well. Just like they always do.

-In the middle of taking a step to follow Libertus away, the glaives see Ardyn go still as a painting. See blue eyes sharpen like blades and then-. He turns around in one fluid movement, like it was intentional all along, his easy smile still in place but now dripping an unstated sort of malice that takes the glaive by surprise. They watch, gaping and confused, as Ardyn suddenly transforms into the monster they expected to find those first weeks he arrived in the Citadel, the vaunted Niflheim Chancellor who could ruin people with a smile and a few honeyed words. Where a moment ago he’d been passively taking insults, now Ardyn runs verbal mazes around the two councilmen, ripping them open and stripping them down to their barest, ugliest parts all while never dropping his friendly, polite mien. Somewhere in the “conversation” (massacre), the glaives are pretty sure Ardyn blackmails the two councilmen into supporting a bunch of refugee support programs that, as a technical enemy politician, Ardyn should not know about and they are definitely sure that Ardyn manages to pull it off while simultaneously insulting the two men’s family lines all the way back to the era of the Founder King. By name.

-As he suddenly bids the sputtering councilmen good day and trails along after a wide-eyed Libertus and a long-suffering Captain who arrived somewhere in the verbal massacre, his footsteps silent and predatory when around the glaive he’s always been easy and noisy (to let them know he’s there, to ensure he cannot startle them), the glaive realize that Ardyn is every inch the monster they were expecting. Every centimeter the poisonous, deadly politician they complained about before getting to know him. He just … doesn’t bare his fangs at the people that, by all conventional logic, he should. Somewhere along the way, this Niflheim Chancellor decided that he was more loyal to the line of Lucis and the ragtag refugees called the Kingsglaive than he was his own empire, and that if hiding his claws and acting oblivious around disapproving, snobby nobles was what it took to stay rather than having to return to his own country (his prison), then he would.

-Over drinks, they all agree Ardyn Izunia, former Chancellor of Niflheim, is the scariest person they’ve ever seen. And that they are all really glad he’s on their side.

(hope that satisfies your Ask, Anon! It … spiraled out of my control)

#SE asks #anon asks #Melodies and Manuscripts #Nox verse #Secret Engima Rambles

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